Oakland-While the debate rages on in Washington whether the planned deadline for the change in television signals from analog to digital will be subject to a delay or go forward as planned, assistance centers sponsored by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) are springing up in some communities across the country, coordinated by local nonprofit groups.
<br> <br>
Media Alliance is a local partner in Oakland, California and has set up an assistance center to serve Oakland and East Bay residents at 1431 23rd Avenue, sited at the San Antonio Neighborhood Network. The assistance center will mark its opening day on Monday January 26th, 2009 with a press briefing and open house reception at the nearby East Side Cultural Center at 2277 International Boulevard. The event will include up-to-date information on the transition, an explanation of the services available at the assistance center, a tour, and an opportunity to meet and talk to the center staffers. Members of the East Bay press and the local community are encouraged to attend.
<br> <br>
The Assistance Center will be open to the public Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11am to 5pm. Phone inquiries may be left at 510-533-7266. Center staffers will also be visiting senior centers, assisted living facilities, churches and other community groups to do presentations on dealing with the transition, converter box options for non-cable/satellite households, coupon drives and consumer information on purchase options and installation instructions. Volunteers are also encouraged to contact the Center as training will be available for community members to assist with center staffing as well as off-site informational sessions in the months and weeks up to and after the transition.
<br> <br>
The Assistance Center will be managed by Phavia Kujichagulia and Karl Jagbandhansingh. Phavia Kujichagulia is a veteran activist and former professor of African Civilizations and Ethnomusicology at Stanford University who has taught Language Arts at Soledad, Folsom, DVI and San Quentin prisons and performed as an author, griot and cultural artist. She says she has “chosen to help coordinate the D-TV Center to assist myriad East Bay communities to eliminate the confusion, alleviate the stress, and minimize the costs associated with the digital television transition countdown”. Karl Jagbandhansingh organized as an undergraduate for the creation of an Ethnic Studies Department a the University of Vermont. From 1997-2007, he co-founded Estacion Libre, an international grassroots organization focused on strengthening ties between communities of color in the US and Canada with indigenous social justice organizing by the Zapatista movement in Mexico. He is currently training in media production at KPFA Radio in the First Voice Media Action Program. Karl sees media access as a crucial tool in the democratic process.
<br> <br>
Media Alliance director Tracy Rosenberg adds “Media Alliance has chosen to help coordinate the local on-the-ground assistance efforts because we don't want to leave this transition only in the hands of far-off government agencies or corporations with an agenda. We see an important role for public interest groups in making sure vulnerable populations have access to accurate information and help when they need it. Television is part of the fabric that binds our society together in difficult times, and we need to make sure everyone who gets information via the television can continue to do so uninterrupted”
<br> <br>
The D-TV Transition is currently scheduled for February 17, 2009. Due to problems with the converter box coupon program, some are calling for a 3-6 month delay in the planned switchover date.
<br> <br>

                        ###