By Donnie Smith

Special to Black Belt Community Foundation

U.S. Rep. Artur (prononunced Are-TOUR) Davis, who represents Alabama 's 7th District, has made his improving conditions in the Black Belt his main goal as a congressman. Of the 12 counties in his district, nine are in the Black Belt, so it is logical that much of his attention is focused there. Part of Tuscaloosa County is in Davis ' district.

Earlier this year, Gov. Bob Riley appointed Davis to the executive committee of the Black Belt Action Commission, where he serves as chair of the Healthcare Task Force.

"Expanding access to healthcare for underserved communities is one of the most critical needs facing the Seventh District and the Black Belt," Davis said. "While the healthcare crisis in the Black Belt will require long-term systemic change, this commission reflects a concrete effort to strengthen the quality of care in the Black Belt."

Davis has launched his own healthcare initiative in the region, teaming with local organizations to provide mobile healthcare units to diabetes, glaucoma and breast cancer, which approach epidemic levels in the region.

Davis believes that medical problems will be long-term so long as there is such a high degree of poverty in his district. Doctors don't want to locate there and when they do they don't stay long.

Poverty, he says, underlies everything about the Black Belt. His district is the third poorest in the United States , with five of the 12 counties among the nation's 100 poorest.

The region is poor because the job climate is poor, Davis says. "It is a long-term economic trend and it can't be reversed overnight, but we can try to cushion the communities."

Lack of good jobs affects all other conditions, he said. Home ownership is low, pre-natal care is spotty, public education is weak in most (but not all) counties. Young adults with ability and skills leave and return only for family reunions, weddings and funerals.

Even with in the impoverished Black Belt, there is a group that is worse off than the others, the rural. “Those who need the most assistance in gaining housing or improving housing are those that live in rural communities," Davis said, and owning one's own quality home remains the essence of the American dream.

Davis said there is no magic cure, but education is one of the keys to economic success in the Black Belt.

He also feels that similar problems aren't exclusive to Alabama . That is why he worked to pass HR 678, the Southern Empowerment and Economic Development Act, which would bring Alabama 's Black Belt into the fold with the Delta Regional Authority. The DRA currently serves an eight-state region with the goal of stimulating economic development.

"These are regional problems," Davis said. "There has been a loss of manufacturing jobs and they haven't been able to rebound."

However, some economic problems are unique to this state.

"When we've lost jobs, we haven't replaced them," Davis said. "We've just lost them.” This is a problem throughout the Southern Black Belt, but especially acute in Alabama , he said.

Though crushing poverty is the first thing that comes to mind when considering Davis ' district, it is also diverse. It stretches almost 200 miles from Irondale through inner-city Birmingham to northern Clarke County . His constituents range from UAB surgeons to struggling farmers, to unemployed young adults, to the elderly.

Quite a challenge, but if his freshman term is any indication, Davis is a rising star in the Democratic Party.

During his first term, Davis introduced five pieces of legislation, a rare accomplishment for a first-term member of the minority party. These bills ranged from a statement honoring the victims of the 16th Street Baptist church bombing to rural housing credits.

Described by most political observer as a political centrist in the Bill Clinton mold, Davis is well liked on both sides of the aisle. Indicating his range of votes, he voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment and called for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld following the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

A supporter of John Kerry in the 2004 election, Davis said, “The current administration has lost direction.”

What does American need. Davis has a simple suggetion: “Make America fairer than it is.”

Regarding future political goals – he's rumored to be running from everything from U.S. Senator, to governor, to, perhaps, a vice presidential dark horse in the 2008 election – Davis says for the time being he's committed to helping his district and his state.

"My goal is to continue to be proactive to the needs of my district."