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The Critical Path and the backbone of Philadelphia's social justice internet
Submitted by afeldman on Thu, 08/21/2008 - 4:54pm.
At least since 1993, Philadelphians and others in our metropol have had access to free dial up internet via the Critical Path Project. Although the internet has perhaps outgrown the screeching whistles and pops of the telephone modem, thousands of low income people at least have access to 56K.
Critpath.org has its origins in a book that “Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scientist” Buckminster Fuller wrote with his protégé Kiyoshi Kuromiya in Philadelphia in 1981. Bucky’s work is being feted at the Whitney in New York at the moment. Kiyoshi Kuromiya’s legacy lives on in Philadelphia as the Critpath Internet Project, The AIDS Library, and ACT UP Philly.
With all the drama surrounding the Department of Human Services these past couple years their programs have come under increased scrutiny. Critpath.org got much of its funding through DHS grants, essentially with the goal of getting some internet services into the hands of poor Philadelphians. That funding won’t be renewed through DHS, which definitely needs to focus on its business of serving families, but we’re hoping the Mayor and the City can find funding elsewhere to keep this backbone of Philadelphia’s social justice internet up and running.
I encourage blog readers to read our sign-on letter
see what others have said and what else you can do:
Fax Mayor Nutter:
http://www.hallwatch.org/profiles/mayor/nutter
or even come to a community meeting:
Date: Friday, September 5th
Time: 9:30am
Location: The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany, 330 South 13th Street (Between Pine and Spruce Streets)
Sincerely,
Adam Feldman
Reference and Public Services Librarian
AIDS Library and Critical Path Project
Philadelphia FIGHT
1233 Locust Street, 2nd floor
Philadelphia PA 19107
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Yeah
Yeah Adam, thanks for posting this. I just want to say that the internet services provided through critpath to folks living and fighting the AIDS epidemic are a primary example of appropriate technology. These internet tools have grown with the expanding availability of internet services, but they've always been rooted in the basic right of people fighting for health and economic justice to speak for themselves, and organize in the best ways possible.
In a city where Verizon or Comcast make excuses to avoid building broadband-speed connections to poor neighborhoods of color, critpath provides email access, mailing lists, web hosting, file transfer services -- all with the understanding that these basic pieces of infrastructure are revolutionary tools.
As we decide the future of programs like Wireless Philadelphia and as we fight to make sure that we get access to as much spectrum as we can, we have to look at programs like critpath as models of essential, sustainable tech.
PS Adam, I've enjoyed running into you like a billion times in the city over the past week!
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hannah sassaman
267 970 4007
The current generation of social Justice Internet
Hannah alludes to this above with the note about Philly Wi Fi and spectrum reform, but to make the point on its own: poor people living with AIDS, or poor people living without AIDs, deserve better than dial-up. They deserve affordable, high-speed Internet access of the same quality as others in this city. And if they can't pay for it, they should get help just as government helps with water, heat, telephone and health care.
High speed Internet is no longer a luxury. Just as the poor deserve access to the same clean water and sanitation services as the rich, they deserve access to the same Internet as the rich. Such access is critical to participating in modern society, getting a job, finding government benefits, knowing what's happening in the world and who to vote for, and so on.
Crit Path can be part of that vision. I'd like to see them fighting aggressively for high speed networks to their customers. I wouldn't be sad to lose Crit Path dial-up if we gained Crit Path high speed in its place. Easier said than done, for sure. But we should fight for what we deserve, not just the crumbs we hope to hold on to.
Maybe this is a stupid question
But where are our city leaders here in town and across the country on white spaces transition? It's big cities like Philadelphia, New Orleans, Detroit that could benefit most from the amazing spectrum we could get when all our TV channels go digital, and there's suddenly strong, clear spectrum in between those channels that communities could use. Google and public-interest organizers are taking on the National Association of Broadcasters big time when it comes to getting that spectrum back in February 2009. But people running for office are loath, at best, to piss off local TV and radio in an election year.
But if our mayors and city governments stood up and demanded these airwaves, it might help Congress be a bit less craven in the face of the big broadcast lobby.
What can we do to help you step up on this, Mayor Nutter?
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hannah sassaman
267 970 4007