Reply #11: Check this out. It addresses each of your concerns [View All]

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

Working for African Americans

John Kerry has voted for every major piece of Civil Rights legislation to come before Congress since 1985, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. Kerry received a 100 percent rating from the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People for his work in support of civil rights during the 107th Congress.

REBUILDING AMERICA’S ECONOMY

Raise the Minimum Wage: Nearly one in six minimum wage workers are African American – or 1.7 million workers. Because inflation has been eating away at the minimum wage, its value is the lowest it has been since 1989. John Kerry helped lead the fight to pass the last minimum wage increase in 1997 and is a strong supporter of legislation to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to keep working families from falling farther behind.

Create Jobs: There are more than half a million more unemployed African Americans today than at the start of the Bush Administration. The unemployment rate among African Americans has climbed back into double-digits and is the highest it has been in nine years. John Kerry supports efforts that put America back to work and renew our cities through building infrastructure, school construction and modernization, tax credits and cleaning up polluted areas in our country.

Help Small Businesses Succeed: John Kerry would fuel growth in African American-owned businesses by expanding the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, which opens doors to federal contracting to many African American businesses, and make start-up and venture capital available to African American businesses. Kerry is the most senior Democrat and former chairman of the Small Business Committee and he led the fight to preserve Affirmative Action in federal Small Business assistance.

Protect Workers Right to Organize a Union: Unions provide workers a voice at the workplace and help them organize to wing better wages, benefits and respect from management. John Kerry has strongly supported the right to organize, helping many workers in his home state of Massachusetts organize unions, including Justice for Janitors in the Boston area in their efforts to organize and win health benefits. Kerry also supports card check and neutrality as the fairest way for workers to choose and organize unions.

Increase Homeownership: Homeownership rates among African Americans have not increased significantly during the Bush Administration and less than half of African American families own their own home today. John Kerry introduced the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act to spur the construction new, affordable rental units for low-income, working families. Its goal is to create 1.5 million affordable, mixed-income developments in areas with the greatest opportunities for low-income families over the next decade. And Kerry championed funding for YouthBuild, which helps at-risk youth obtain an education and take responsibility for their lives and their communities. Over the past decade, more than 20,000 YouthBuild students have built more than 7,000 housing units in their neighborhoods. Eighty-five percent of the students who complete the YouthBuild program either secure a job or go on to post-secondary education.


QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION

Keep the Promises of “Leave No Child Behind:” Too many schools in our communities are underfunded and in poor condition. John Kerry voted for the Leave No Child Behind education reform law because it promised to give states flexibility in using federal funds to address local needs and extra aid to help students from low-income families reach high standards. However, unless schools receive the resources they were promised and respect they deserve, the new law will fail and inequality will persist. Where the Bush Administration sought to cut funding for school reform and issued restrictive guidelines, Kerry will fund the new effort and ensure states have the flexibility to meet the goals of the law.

Early Education for All: High quality early childhood education programs get kids ready for school and in later years cut crime and increase job productivity by giving young children the opportunity to learn skills early on that put them on the path to success. John Kerry has supported increases in quality early childhood programs like Head Start and child care. His Early Learning Opportunities Act, which became law in 2000, helps families by expanding and coordinating early childhood development efforts. And he would expand outreach to increase enrollment among all groups.

Open the Doors of College: John Kerry believes that every child who is willing to aim high and work hard should have access to college. Kerry has worked to expand and protect federal student loan programs and federal scholarships and funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which confer the majority of bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees awarded to black students in the physical sciences, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and education. Kerry supports increasing the maximum Pell Grant, and would back "super" Pell Grants, which provides additional assistance for eligible students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class. His plan would increase access to college and make it easier to transition to four-year colleges and universities.

Close the Digital Divide: African American households are half as likely to have Internet access as others. And residents of central city and rural areas still lag behind residents of suburbs and other urban areas. John Kerry has been a leader in advocating federal policies to bring broadband technology to rural communities, including the E-rate program designed to help poorer school districts afford technology and Internet access.

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE

Affordable Health Care for All: One in five African Americans are uninsured and soaring insurance costs threaten to drive the number even higher. John Kerry has a plan to deal with the alarming increases in health care costs and the growing number of uninsured. His plan would allow Americans to buy into the same health care plan that the President and Members of Congress are in while providing help for those who cannot afford insurance.

Expand Access to Children’s Health Care: More than 1.5 million African American children lack any form of health insurance. John Kerry fought for the creation of the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, which marked the largest investment in children's health care in a generation. His health plan would make sure that 99 percent of all children are eligible and enrolled in health insurance. In addition, Kerry supports adequate funding and outreach for school lunch and other family nutrition programs.

Address Health Disparities: African Americans are 40 percent more likely to die from heart disease than whites. Infant mortality rates are twice as high for African Americans as for white Americans. African American men suffer from heart disease at nearly twice the rate of whites; and African Americans are more likely to die from breast cancer and prostate cancer. In part, these disparities are due to the fact that African Americans are less likely to be immunized, routinely tested for cancer and less likely to get regular check-ups. John Kerry will work to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities through increased research and outreach to increase screening and immunization in minority communities.

Preserve and Protect Medicare: 2.7 million African Americans rely on Medicare. John Kerry will protect and modernize Medicare, including adding a meaningful prescription drug benefit.

PROTECT AND EXPAND CIVIL RIGHTS

Ensure that Every Ballot Counts: The election system was scrutinized in the wake of the voting problems that surrounded the 2000 Presidential election. We realized that too often the system fails to ensure that every American who chooses to exercise his or her right to vote is able to go to the polls and cast a ballot that will be counted. John Kerry believes America needs comprehensive election reform, and was a strong supporter of the election reform law passed last year.

End Racial Profiling: John Kerry believes that the practice of racial profiling should be prohibited and that remedies should be established for its victims. It is more important than ever that the nation’s laws are enforced without resort to discrimination.

Prosecute Hate Crimes: John Kerry supports expanding our nation’s hate crime law. He supports efforts to provide equal justice for all victims of hate violence, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender or disability.

Judicial Nominations That Will Uphold Our Rights: As lifetime appointees, judicial nominees will shape fundamental issues such as civil rights, religious freedom, privacy rights and freedom of speech for decades to come. Conservative judges bent on enforcing ideology rather than interpreting the law have recently undermined landmark achievements such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. John Kerry believes that individuals appointed to all of our federal courts must be committed to interpreting the law and preserving constitutional and civil rights.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Provide Clean Air and Water: A disproportionate number of African American children live in areas where the air does not meet EPA standards. John Kerry is a leader in addressing the problem of acid rain and air pollution. His work led to the passage of tougher smog standards in the Clean Air Act of 1990. And he fought hard to block the efforts that would weaken the Clean Air Act and joined a bipartisan proposal to limit mercury, sulfur, nitrogen and carbon dioxide from power plants. Kerry also worked to guarantee cleaner and safer drinking water by strengthening the Safe Drinking Water Act, and fought efforts to weaken it. He will strengthen the environmental cop-on-the-beat, and prosecute environmental criminals. He will also actively pursue environmental justice for communities that have been the victims of years of corporate environmental assaults.


Press Releases

January 30, 2004 - Rep. Kendrick Meek Endorses John Kerry for President

January 30, 2004 - Statement from Congressman James Clyburn Responding to General Clark’s Comments

January 23, 2004 - Bush is Out of Touch With Americans

January 19, 2004 - Message From John Kerry Commemorating Martin Luther King's Birthday

January 16, 2004 - Statement from John Kerry on Bush’s Recess Appointment of Charles Pickering

January 16, 2004 - Kerry Receives Endorsement of Del. Donna M. Christensen of U.S. Virgin Islands

January 11, 2004 - Kerry Offers Plan to Celebrate, Strengthen and Enhance America’s Urban Centers

January 10, 2004 - National African American and Latino Leaders Organize to Help Kerry Win Democratic Nomination

December 31, 2003 - John Kerry Emphasizes the Possibilities for 2004

December 06, 2003 - Prominent African American Leaders in Virginia Form Committee to Support John Kerry for President