Hillary Clinton says nation faces a capital, educational and digital divideBy Phil Hirschkorn/CNN
January 12, 2000
Web posted at: 5:43 p.m. EST (2243 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- America faces a capital, educational and digital divide that needs to be bridged, especially to help minorities move forward in the 21st century, first lady Hillary Clinton said in a speech Wednesday.
Mrs. Clinton made the point Wednesday during her appearance before the Rainbow Coalition-PUSH conference on its "Wall Street Project," which seeks to direct more corporate investment into minority-owned companies and minority communities.
PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) was founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1971 to expand economic empowerment and educational opportunity for people of color. Jackson founded the Rainbow Coalition in 1984 to focus on social justice issues. The groups merged four years ago.
Jackson, a two-time presidential candidate and a political ally of President Bill Clinton, is hosting the three-day conference.
"The predominant issue now is sharing economic security," Jackson said in his introduction of the first lady, who is expected to announce her bid for the U.S. Senate from New York next month.
During a 25-minute speech, Mrs. Clinton picked up on the theme.
"The lack of equal opportunity for access to capital and for jobs is one of the unfinished pieces of business from the last century that we carry with us into this new one," Mrs. Clinton told an audience of about 200 people.
"Every one of us has an obligation and responsibility in the continuing journey of America to extend the winner's circle," she said.
Mrs. Clinton said too many of the state's residents have not shared in the nation's economic growth of the past decade.
"I believe we have to make it easier for businesses of all sizes, from Fortune 500 to small startups, to invest in the inner city and in rural areas," she said.
"We should support tax credits and incentives and government guaranteed loans to leverage billions of dollars in new private investment and reduce the initial risk for businesses that agree to hang out their shingles in areas of
high unemployment," she said.
The president is scheduled to speak before the Rainbow Coalition-PUSH conference on Thursday.
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