Health Care is the Economy

Dealing with the health care (BKA health scare) system with no insurance will make a person sick. Just ask the millions of people suffering through this nightmare today. Just ask me. I was once in the same boat. I found myself unexpectedly expecting. I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband is self-employed. We have no health insurance for us (just the children). So when I got pregnant with my youngest son, I had to tunnel through the maze we call public health care. What a joke. I applied for what Florida calls Pregnancy Medicaid. They denied me and gave absolutely no explanation. I tried calling. I dialed and dialed all day, for days. No answer. Just a recording saying to try back later because the representatives were all busy. I tried to go to the Department of Children and Families office where you’re supposed to get assistance in dealing with these matters. I got sent to a phone bank to call the same number I had been calling all day anyway. No wonder the representatives were busy. I went through this for months. So eventually I just gave up on talking to anyone who cared in the public health care system. I considered every other option, private health plans (which are not really insurance), private doctor payment plans, and birthing centers. I thought I might just have to have the baby at the house. (He came so fast that I actually almost did). Eventually, the public health scare system decided I would get what they call a "share of cost." Once the bills reached a certain amount in one month’s time, Pregnancy Medicaid would kick in. It wouldn’t reach that high until the actual delivery. The rest of the medical bills would be on me. Better than nothing. So that’s my health scare story. Now I call him my little bonus boy.

Some people are wondering why we are talking about health care reform when the economy is in such bad shape. You know the old saying, “It’s the economy, Stupid!” Well, even if you have health insurance, it’s important. Even if you never have to go to the doctor in your life, the problems with health care still affect you. Health insurance, prescription drugs, and other health care needs are expensive. Not everyone can afford it. Others say “That’s their problem.” Well, when people get sick and they don’t have an effective way of dealing with it, it affects the entire economic system. They may lose their jobs, making the unemployment rate go up. They can’t contribute to the tax system. Instead, they drain it because they eventually need public aid. They may lose their homes. We’ve seen how foreclosures have sent the real estate market and the entire economic system into chaos, nearly causing another Great Depression. There are so many ripple effects caused by a weak and flawed health care system. Often people go bankrupt because of ridiculous medical bills. A Harvard study found that 62% of bankruptcy is due to medical problems. (78% of those people started out with insurance and lost it during the process). Then they get on Medicaid, causing further drain on the public coffer. If they would have just had access to affordable health care in the first place, many problems might have been avoided. People don’t want to depend on the system. They do want an affordable option.

So all of us should be in on this debate. Politicians on the left are talking loudly against the current Senate bill. Politicians on the right are talking loudly against it for different reasons. Most of us regular people are somewhere in the middle, not saying anything. Most of the time we end up going along with the loudest talkers, thinking that must be the consensus. Usually the reasonable voices are overpowered by the loud talkers. We need to make our voices heard. Call your senator and let him or her know your take on things. In Florida, you can call Senator Bill Nelson at (407) 872-7161 or Senator George LeMieux at (407) 254-2573. All others can go to http://www.thomas.gov/ to find out who your senators and representatives are.

Great Expectations: The Challenges of Living in the Age of the First Black President

The President accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with grace and perfection. Just last week former Vice President Dick Cheney accused the President of showing weakness and downgrading the American image in the world. However, the President’s acceptance speech was right on. It answered those who criticize Obama as either weak on foreign policy or not deserving of the prize because of his decision to send more troops into Afghanistan. His speech, which included what some are already calling the Obama Doctrine, will certainly be recorded in the history books.

But am I happy the President put Cheney and others in their places because he’s my president or because he’s the first black president? Do black folk more passionately defend Obama, give him more passes and benefit of the doubt? On the other hand, do we criticize him more acutely and expect more from him? The election of the first African American president is a treasure to us. Because it is such a treasure, the day-to-day reality of life with the first black president is also a great challenge to African American politicians (including the president himself), African American leadership and everyday African American citizens of this country.

One challenge for the President and other black folk is unrealistic expectations. Some believed the election of Barack Obama signified the end of our problems. Others believed Obama would swoop in like a superhero and save us. They believe Obama is supposed to be the president for black America. Even some black lawmakers are pressuring Obama to focus on “black issues.” Barbara Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, criticized Obama’s handling of African American issues. She said African American problems are specific, concrete and require “targeted action”. In other words, black people need special attention. Obama has responded that he is the American President. His job is to deal with American issues. When asked what he was going to do about African American unemployment, the President said, “The most important thing I can do for the African American community is the same thing I can do for the American community, period, and that’s get the economy going again and get people hiring again.”

Even though the President doesn’t, as Al Sharpton called it, get up on a soapbox and preach to people about black issues, his policies have helped black people. This administration has given more aid to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He has developed the Choice Neighborhood Initiative, designed to bring progress to black communities. He has also directed $1.5 billion toward prevention of homelessness.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t challenge Obama just because he is black. Obama has encouraged black politicians and leaders to challenge him just like blacks should challenge any president. He doesn’t expect or want black people to give him a pass. He knows, as a former community activist, that if no pressure is applied, nothing will get done. That is the nature of politics.

We are proud of Obama as the first black president. We want him to and expect him to do well. But he can’t do well as the American President if he is only attending to African American concerns. Attending to American concerns will help all Americans. Obama will then be able to leave a legacy of which we can all be proud.

There's Still Hope for Black Girls

My hometown is very small. If you’re not from Sanford, you probably haven’t ever heard of it. We very rarely make it to the national headlines. When we do, it’s usually not good. Some notable Sanford headlines have been ones like “Hurricane Sweeps Through Tiny Town” and “Tornado Wreaks Havoc in Florida City” and more recently “Teen Attacked in Local Laundromat”.

Now the last one happened just before Thanksgiving and had the town abuzz for a while. It was all caught on tape. A girl is minding her business folding up clothes. Out of nowhere, she gets beat down by a bunch of other girls. They even ran the footage on national news programs. From gangstas to grandmas, everybody was talking about it, shaking their heads, asking “Why are these girls acting a fool in public?” “Why in Sanford?” “Please don’t tell me they were black.” “These girls need some home training,” they said.

We all know our girls need grooming, nurturing and love. This incident just makes it blatantly obvious that they need it bad, and they need it right now. These are future mothers (some current mothers), fighting and snatching out weaves, cussing and fussing, not caring about anything or anybody (even themselves).

So what do we do? I wasn’t going to write about this incident, because I’m tired of only seeing evidence of depravity among my people in the headlines. However, right after the incident happened, I got notice about an upcoming local event designed to give just the training and attention these girls (and other girls like them) so desperately need.

The Hal Jackson Talented Teens Scholarship Competition is coming to Central Florida. This is not just a pageant. It is a mission to see the spark in our girls, stoke the flame and make them shine bright before the world. This competition began in 1971 to meet a need among black girls. It has grown to become an international competition. People like, LL Cool J, Alicia Keys, Brian McKnight, Stevie Wonder, and Sheryl Lee Ralph have been involved with this program. Girls get the opportunity to win scholarships. They also get an even more beneficial opportunity to be coached and to enhance their public speaking ability, etiquette, and self-confidence.

Girls ages 13-17 in the Central Florida area can become a part of this movement by calling (407) 488-4158 or e-mailing masterdanceseries@yahoo.com to schedule an audition. Auditions will be held on Dec.6 and 13 from 10 am to 5 pm.

Tell all the girls you know. Don’t just tell the one’s who are already doing great things. Also tell the ones that can do great things. Especially tell them. They are the ones that need this most.

The Dirty Game of Black Politics: It Didn't Stop with Marion Barry

Is it just me or are there a lot of black political scandals? One politician’s involved in some kind of elections fraud. Another is accepting dirty money. The next is talking dirty on the phone to a staffer. Arrest here. Press conference there. And on and on. I don’t know if black politicians have more dirty laundry or if the laundry stinks more to me because they are black. (Or if, as the politicians involved seem to think, black laundry gets riffled through unfairly). In any case, it all still smells.

One recent case in Orlando is particularly fishy to me. This time it involves two black politicians at the same time, Daisy Lynum and would be challenger Ezell (E-Z) Harris. Yes, he calls himself E-Z. Anyway, Lynum has held the City Commission seat for 12 years. Earlier this year, at a Tea Party Express rally, Harris announced he would do everything he could to unseat her. He bought the rights to her name on the Web. So if you go to http://www.daisylynum.com/, you will find all sorts of mudslinging against Lynum. Harris is no dummy. He calls her “Crazy Daisy" among other things. He says she’s corrupt and he wants her gone.

When I saw this, I thought this was just another case of politics having black folk acting silly and fighting each other over scraps. There is a black seat or two in just about every district that all the black politicians have to fight for. It can get ugly. This time it really did.

But it gets uglier and stinkier. Right after Harris qualified to run against Lynum, Harris gets arrested for selling drugs. Okay, pump the brakes here please. Harris was running as a conservative who was going to clean up politics in Orlando, put a stop to corruption and enforce drug laws. Of course, Lynum was crushed, right? Not. This was right on time for her. In fact, it seems to be a little too on time for her. The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigations was investigating Harris for months. However, they waited until after he qualified to run against Lynum to arrest Harris. Of course, Lynum and her supporters say this is just a fortunate coincidence. But Lynum knew all about the drug investigation. Actually, more than that, she had reported a tip to the police that Harris was selling drugs. Harris is calling the whole thing a set up. He also owns the Orlando Police Chief’s name on the Internet. So Harris thinks Lynum, Val Demings and the entire Orlando Police Department are all involved in a big conspiracy to ruin Harris’ campaign and shut him up. He decided to pull back on campaigning so as not to tarnish the political process. Way too late.

Look, I know politicians are human beings. They get weak and make mistakes. But when one decides to seek office, that politician is seeking something higher. They are professing to represent the image, needs and will of their constituents. Often, black politicians represent mostly black constituents. Black people have many issues to deal with in our communities, drugs, violent crime, educational problems and so on. Commissioner Lynum represents (and Harris is seeking to represent) the downtown Orlando area, which includes the Parramore district. They need people to fight for them. Politicians, we need people who can fight for us. How can a politician fight for us if he or she is spending so much time and money fighting criminal investigations and scandalous allegations? Please leaders, try your best to stay above reproach at least during your campaign and term of office. We don’t want to hear about your infidelity, drug use, late night phone calls or abuse of power (using your title to get out of parking tickets and such). There is too much work to be done.

Motherless

Death has a way of making one contemplate life. Its purpose. Its brevity. Its rises and falls. Almost a week ago, my church lost its very dear first lady, Mother Doris Bell Hillery. Our community lost a lady among ladies. She was gentle and kind but never weak. She was strong and fearless but never overbearing. She served God for over 40 years by serving others. She stood by her husband, supported and aided him as he founded and led a church. Her reputation was immaculate. As I list all of these qualities, my heart is aching. We are so in need of women strong enough to stand, yet gentle enough to love. Take a look around. Our communities are filled with people in need of prayer and love. Young people are trying to fill the void with anything they think might work, illicit sex, drugs, things. God said that if we humble ourselves and seek His face, He would heal us. I lament because of the apparent scarcity of hearts left to cry out to God. Who will cry out for the children? I examine myself and seek for a strengthening and purification of my heart so that it will be useful to give the love that is so needed. What good is it otherwise? Mother Hillery left this world on November 8, 2009. She left her love with us. Really love is the only thing transferable from one life to the next. So let us cherish it, use it to serve and leave it for future generations. This is the joy and meaning of life, brief as it is.

Rihanna & Chris: A True Hollywood (and Everyhood) Young Love Story

When I saw Rihanna’s face black and blue beyond recognition, I immediately started questioning the girls I know to get their take on the whole thing. It was interesting. While most of them were horrified at performer Chris Brown’s violence toward a girl, many of the teenagers seemed to want to defend this young man. None of them came right out and said it was Rihanna’s fault. However, they gave a lot of “yeah buts” and “well maybes.” They were extremely hesitant to throw away this baby-faced pop prince. Maybe that’s because they are at the age where they can understand the complexity of the situation. Or maybe, like Rihanna has admitted to recently, the girls also felt embarrassed to have been duped by a sugary sweet image.

I felt tremendous sorrow and sympathy for Rihanna. But I also felt for this young man. I don’t want to give up on him either. For me, he represents the slew of boys who get into trouble early and get thrown away. I’m pulling for him. I don’t want to just give him a pass because he’s a pop star. I want him to sincerely fess up to what he did, learn from it and do better. I want to see him continue with his life and show our boys there is life after a really bad decision.

Rihanna’s coming out and saying she made a bad choice is great. Being a symbol of confidence and self preservation for young girls is admirable. But our boys need a symbol just as badly, if not more so. I’m praying Chris Brown will find the strength to be that symbol.

Rihanna’s interview about her relationship and domestic violence incident with Chris Brown will air tonight at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Still Seperate, Still Unequal, Now What?

The Supreme Court declared mandatory separation of whites and blacks in schools to be illegal over 50 years ago. Ever since that ruling, school districts have come up with all sorts of creative ways to do it anyway.

Orange County, Florida made a deal with the federal government to let them stop busing white kids to schools in black neighborhoods back in 1996. Now the NAACP has brought a law suit against the school district because the district has failed to hold up its end of the bargain, which was to make sure the predominantly black schools were not neglected.

The fact that school boards and white parents buck against and manipulate the system could be one reason why the whole integration experiment just doesn’t seem to be working. We’ve been fighting for over 50 years for true integration. We’ve done everything we can think of to prove how separation by race is harmful. Still, government reports and findings from agencies like the Center on Education Policy consistently show blacks lagging behind whites on every educational indicator.

Black students are absolutely capable of achieving. So what is really going on here? We need to have a frank discussion about what is keeping our kids from doing well in school. Sure, students at predominantly white schools get the more experienced teachers and more up-to-date equipment. But the question that presses on my heart is why can’t black students learn just as well in black schools. I am certainly not advocating for segregation by any means. I believe that exposure to different cultures is education in itself. But sometimes, as we can see, that just isn’t happening. Sometimes black kids will go to predominantly black schools. So I think we need to deal with the question of why does black school equal bad education. We need to candidly admit that good education begins at home. One of the problems (and I’m coming to see it as the main problem) is that our kids come to school with some disadvantages that the school itself did not create. But we expect the school to fix it. When people start talking like this, they get accused of blaming the victim. People jumped all over Bill Cosby for the following comments at the NAACP Brown vs. Board of Education anniversary dinner:

“Ladies and gentlemen, these people set… they opened the doors, they gave us the right, and today, ladies and gentlemen, in our cities and public schools we have 50% drop out. In our own neighborhood, we have men in prison. No longer is a person embarrassed because they’re pregnant without a husband. No longer is a boy considered an embarrassment if he tries to run away from being the father of the unmarried child.”

People accused Cosby of hating black people, of blaming the victim. Well I think he said those things because he loves black people. He’s just trying to figure out what is going on. No, we don’t need to blame the victim. We need to concentrate our resources on helping the victim help himself. We put all of our research, funding, and advocacy into trying to get the teachers, the principals, and the government to lift us up. Sure we pay taxes and we should fight for better schools. But some of our energy could go into closing the achievement gap in the home. After all, the problem starts before the student walks in the doors of the school. How can you solve such a major problem just depending on children who ultimately have to depend on their parents? We’re skipping the parents. That’s backward.

We put all of our money and resources into convincing school districts, principals and teachers to accept our kids and believe in them. Meanwhile, the cycle of low achievement continues. Our community can instead come together and work toward convincing, supporting and teaching our parents so that parents will know how to do what it takes to make sure their children are ready to learn.