OPINION
Chronicle
Ernest H. Pitt PuWisher/Co-Foundcr
* ELAINE Pitt Business Manager
T. Kevin Walker Managing Editor
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Cause of Death:
Bureaucratic
Failure
Marian
Wright
Edelman
Guest
Columnist
For too many of the nine
million uninsured children in
America, the lack of health
coverage can literally mean
the difference between life
and death.
Children are dying
because their health coverage
under Medicaid or the State.;
Children's Health Insurance
Program (SCHIP) ran out.
was not renewed in a timely
manner or simply does not
cover the services a child
needs. Some of these deaths
occurred because attempts to
gain access to health care are
ensrtarled in red tape. The
impact of this oppressive
bureaucracy on children is
tragically illustrated by the
death of Devante Johnson of
Houston, Texas.
Tamika Scott, Devante's
mother, didn't plan to rely on
government supported health
insurance to protect her chil
dren. At 29, she managed
raising three boys while pur
suing a carter, buying a house
and completing a college
degree. Then her doctors told
her she had Multiple
Sclerosis and strongly urged
her to leave her job for health
reasons. She and her sons lost
their, private health insurance
and she had to cash in stocks
and use money from her
401(k) retirement fund to pay
bills. Fifteen months later, the
family sank even deeper into
financial difficulty when her
oldest son, 10-year-old
Devante, was diagnosed with
Wilms tumor, an advanced
kidney cancer. Because of the
family's reduced income, the
six months of chemotherapy
Devante received were cov
ered by Medicaid. At the end
of the treatments, the doctors
pronounced him cured. But
six months later the cancer
returned. Devante and his
mother were told that a new
three-year course of
chemotherapy, radiation and
constant monitoring were
critical to Devante's recovery.
Undeterred by this rever
sal, Devante proceeded with
the new treatment with high
hopes and the unwavering
support of his mother. Two
months before the expiration
of the Medicaid coverage that
was essential to the health
restoring care Devante need
ed, Tamika submitted an
application for renewal to the
Texas Department of Human
Services. She, was confident
that there was more than suf
ficient time for the applica
tion to be processed to allow
her child's health care to con
tinue seamlessly. One month
before the cutoff date, she
became concerned when she
hadn't received notice that the
application had been
approved. There was still
time, she thought. Tamika
Scott submitted two more
completed applications.one
of them through the Texas
Children's Hospital. She fol
wed up with dozens of
phone calls and faxed infor
mation. But time ran out and
Devant's health coverage was
(^continued.
A month passed, then two.
She inquired on numerous
occasions as to the status of
the application, but never got
a satisfactory answer. For
four months, no one in the
Department of Human
Services told her the applica
tion was lost in the system
and had never been
processed.
Devante's growing tumor
become a visibly protruding
lump on his back. His pain
increased and' walking
became difficult. He lost
twenty pounds. Yet Devante
didn't give up. He never com
plained and was a comfort to
his mother. He remained an
honor roll student who took
advanced classes and looked
after his younger brothers:
In desperation. Tamika
Scott appealed to her state
representative. Through his
intervention, Devante's health
coverage was restored in one
day. He was transferred to the
University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center
where he received first rate,
comprehensive care. All too
late. This courageous 14
year-old died on March 1 ,
2007. The cause of death was
complications from advanced
cancer. But perhaps other
causes were the obstacles and
delays involved in navigating
Devante's renewal applica
tion through a complicated
bureaucratic system.
We must not let Devante'S
death be in vain. We need a
national solution to the urgent
child health problem. The
Children's Defense Fund
endorses the All .Healthy
Children Act (H.R. 1688),
introduced by Congressman
Bobby Scott (D-VA). The
measure would .consolidate
Medicaid and SCHIP into one
fully funded single program
with guaranteed, comprehen
sive health and mental health
benefits for all children and
pregnant women with family
incomes at or below 300 per
cent of the federal poverty
level ($61,950 for a family of
four in 2007). Under this
measure, 5-6 million children
currently eligible for
Medicaid and SCHIP won't
fall through bureaucratic
cracks. Enrolling uninsured
children in health care pro
grams,and keeping them cov
ered.would be streamlined
with an automatic enrollment
process and other simplifica
tions.
The loss of children like
Devante is disgraceful and
unworthy of the nation
America must become.
Extending health coverage to
every child in America can be
achieved in 2007. We must
stand against those who say
we can't afford to cover all
children this year. We must
also stand against those who
seek to phase in health cover
age for all children over many
years. Which of us would like
our children to wait one. two,
five or more years to get
health care? The nation must
embrace the moral and politi
cal will to save our children
from unnecessary suffering
and death. To help, go to
www.childrensdefense.org/he
althychild.
7 Marian Wright Edelman
is President of the Children's
Defense Fund and its Action
Council.
Fight against offensive lyrics
George
Curry
Guest
Columnist
The late C. DeLores Tucker
left a rich legacy when she died
in 2005. A participant in the
Selma-to-Montgomery. ' Ala.
March and longtime NAACP
board member, she became
Pennsylvania's first Black
Secretary of State in 1971 . She
would later chair the National
Political Congress of Black
Women, Inc. But perhaps her
greatest - and least appreciated
- accomplishment might be her
relentless campaign to eliminate
sexist and degrading lyrics from
the music industry.
It was a war for which she
never volunteered.
"I have, since 1993, led a
crusade against this gangster,
pomo rap," she said in a 2000
interview on CNN. "And all of
the industry does not support it.
In fact. 1 got involved by two of
our entertainers coming to us
and asking us to help: Dionne
Warwick and Melba Moore and
many others who did so. but
didn't want their names
known."
Tucker took her campaign
against sexually explicit lyrics
to the streets, picketing music
stores, and to the suites, pur
chasing .stock in Time Warner
and challenging its top execu
tives at stockholders' meetings.
Rap artists, in turn, attacked
Tucker with a vengeance.
Tupac Shakur, in a song
titled. "How Do U Want It?"
raps: "DeLores Tucker you's a
[MF]. Instead of trying to help a
nigga you destroy your broth
er."
On another song titled
"Wonder Why They Call U
Bitch," Shakur says: "Got your
legs up trying to get rich. Keep
your head up and your legs
closed Dear Ms. Delores
Tucker."
Eminem, the rapper from
Detroit, said on the "Rap
Game" CD: "Tell that C.
DeLores Tucker slut to suck a
dic)c/ [MF] ducked, what the
fuck"? Son of a bitch/Take away
my gun. I'm gonna tuck some
other shit."
KRS-One, hailed as a race
conscious rapper, spent time
denouncing Tucker on a CD
supposedly about freeing
Mumia Abu-Jamal. The first
verse:
Everywhere I look there's
another house negro
.Talkin about they people
and how they should be equal
Theyf talkin but the conver
sation ain't going nowhere
You can diss hip-hop, so
don't you even go there
C. DeLores Tucker, you
wanna quote the scripture
Everytime you hear nigga,
listen up sista.
f
The second verse of the
song was also spent attacking
the "girl named Delores "
The music industry refused
to accept any responsibility.
Responding to a news confer
ence held in 19% by Tucker,
former Secretary of Education
William Bennett and Sen.
Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.].
the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA)
issued a statement that said, in
part:
"...The recording industry
flags explicit sound recordings
with a Parental Advisory Logo.
The highly visible black-and
white logo has provided par
ents. for the last 12 years, with a
tool to determine what is appro
priate for their children. Parents
- not some special interest
group - should be the arbiter of
family values."
Tucker countered that even
free speech has its limitations -
except when it comes to her.
Tupafc Shakur was shot to
death in Las Vegas in 1996.
Undaunted. Tucker filed a $10
million defamation lawsuit
against Shakur 's estate. Time
and Newsweek. Time reported
that "claims that lewd remarks
made about |Tucker|... caused
her so much distress that she
and" her husband have not been
able to have sex." Newsweek
referenced claims that the lyrics
"iced their sex life."
Tucker's suit, taken all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court,
was dismissed, according to
judges at various points, largely
because she was deemed to be a
public figure and therefore must
prove that malicious lyrics were
written, knowing in advance
that they would damage tier rep
utation.
Rather than ignoring rap
lyrics, as many conservatives
have charged in the wake of
Don Imus' being fired for call
ing Rutgers University basket
ball players "nappy-headed
hos," many African-Americans
have challenged the portrayal of
Black women, especially in rap
videos. Essence magazine has
launched a "Take Back the
Music Campaign," women at
Spelman College protested
Nelly's "Tip Drill" video, and
public figures - including
NAACP Board Chair Julian
Bond, Bill Cosby, Jesse
Jackson. Al Sharpton and E.
Faye Williams, Tucker's suc
cessor at the National Political
Congress of Black Women -
have voiced mounting opposi
tion to lewd lyrics.
Some African-Americans
refused to join C. DeLores
Tucker's campaign because she
often paired her efforts with
those of Bill Bennett, a conser
vative Republican . But critics of
the music have run out of
excuses. It's time to pick up
where Tucker left off and
declare language that degrade
females, whether uttered by
Don Imus or rappers, must not
be tolerated.
George E. Curry, former
editor-in-chief of Emerge maga
zine and the NNPA News
Service. He can be reached at
george@ georgecurryrom or
through his Web site,
www.georgecurry?om.
Bringing the Invisible Man to light
Marc Morial
Guest
Columnist
Prominent African
American scholar and author
Ralph Ellison once depicted the
black man as socially invisible
in his watershed novel Invisible
Man. His hard-hitting portrayal
of life in 1940s black America
suggested that it'll take more
than a major Civil Rights move
ment to bring the nation out of
its racist past. That was in 1953.
Since then, much progress
has been made in terms of black
men gaining greater visibility in
the United States. At the anec
dotal level, African-American
men have broken down color
barriers in a wide array of are
nas - from sports to medicine to
the arts to law to higher educa
tion to finance ? and have
risen to great prominence, giv
ing their white brethren a run
for their money.
From Barack Obama to
Tony Dungy to Thurgood
Marshall to Colin Powell to
Tiger Woods to Russell Simons
to Spike Lee, there are a multi
tude of male African-American
role models who have proven
that they can compete and excel
on the same level as whites to
choose from.
But for all the outstanding
examples of black men defying
a culture of low expectations
dating back to the slavery era
that was created and placed
upon them by mainstream
America via the media and
other outlets, there arc many
more who are light years away
from fulfilling their true poten
tial. They represent the greatest
KRT Photo
Tony Dungy celebrates victory.
source of untapped potential in
the United States.
There is definitely a crisis
afoot among black African
American men that we must
stop complaining about and
take action to resolve - if not for
them, their families and our
society as a whole.
But instead of dwelling on
the statistics, let me propose
some recommendations to not
only help black males but all
Americans:
1 . Universal Early
Childhood Education: All chil
dren in this nation should have a
right to comprehensive early
childhood education, which, as
Head Start proves, is very effec
tive in giving them a leg-up
when they start school.
2. Gftater Experimentation,
with All-Male Schools, Ixmger
School Days and Mentoring:
All-male schools such as the
Eagle Academy and Enterprise
School in the New York City
area combined with mentoring
and longer days help keep
young hoys focused on educa
tion and away from the distrac
tions that could lead them down
the wrong paths.
3. More Sccond Chance
Programs for High School
l>n(>p-Outs. Ex-Offenders:
These programs aim to bring
cx-offenders and disadvantaged
individuals who arc out of
school and out of work back
into the mainstream. Such pro
grams help steer more
Americans, especially those at
risk, back on track by providing
assistance in getting GEDs,
skills training and new jobs.
4. Restore the Federal
Summer Jobs Program to Its
Previous State: At the end of the
21st Century, federal lawmak
ers agreed to "reinvent" the fed
eral Summer Jobs Program that
had been in place for decades by
changing its status from a stand
alone mandatory program to
one of 10 optional youth servic
es programs. Under this reform,
cities and municipalities have
the option of offering the pro
gram or not. It resulted in a
major scaling back of this suc
cessful federal program.
5. Drive Home the Message
That Education Pays Big
Dividends in the Long Run:
Parents need to instill into their
children the value of education
in achieving their dreams and
improving their financial secu
rity. They must continually talk
to their children about how
much better off they will be by
graduating from high school
and college. They must tell
them that their opportunities for
professional and economic
advancement are much greater
with a college degree or higher
than without. So what we've
presented here is blueprint from
which we are urging our
nation's leaders to work from.
Empowering black men to
reach their full potential is the
most serious economic and civil
rights challenge we face today.
Imagine if our nation tapped the
full potential of all the black
boys languishing in the shad
ows? It would mean greater
prosperity for all.
Marc Morial is president
and CEO of the National Urban
League.