Congresswoman highlights health policies, black issues

Julia Carson knew there was something wrong when she was running for the Indiana General Assembly. \nShe had all the symptoms. It was her heart.\nShe saw the doctor, who told her nothing was wrong. He ran every medical test -- except the cardiovascular.\nShe was right. After being elected, she was taken to the emergency room for heart problems. She was given the best medical care in the Midwest, with no questions asked.\n"Because I was already elected to Congress, nobody bothered me about how I was going to pay for the bill. They were happy to have me in their hospital," she said. "But I wanted to stress a flaw that I see in the system."\nCarson, D-10th, said no one should have to deal with medical care red tape.\n"I believe Americans should have the kind of health delivery system that allows anybody, regardless of what your social, economic or racial situation may be, to walk into a hospital any time, any place, anywhere and demand emergency treatment and get it," she said. \nCarson is now the 10th District representative, which includes Indianapolis, and was the first woman and first black person to be elected from that district. She spoke Tuesday as the 2001 Neal Marshall Lectures series guest. The annual lecturer speaks every February during Black History Month, highlighting public policy as it relates to blacks, said Phil Rutledge, professor emeritus and interim associate dean at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis.\nCarson touched on many public policy issues, including the need for universal health care and public education. She also spoke about the state of the prison population. About 2.5 million people are in prison today, many of them minorities and many are in for drug offenses, she said. This is a country that perpetuates violence, she said, and people accused of violent crimes are sent away with an ankle bracelet, while others are kept in prison for more minor offenses.\nShe discussed worker exploitation and spoke out against trade with countries such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which have notorious reputations for mistreating women. \nShe pointed out the achievements of black inventors and pioneers. She mentioned well-known figures such as George Washington Carver, but also mentioned minorities who have contributed but haven't been thoroughly recognized. Thomas Edison is the inventor of the light bulb, she said, but Lewis Latimer, a black man, invented and patented the carbon filament inside the bulb. She mentioned Charles Drew, who developed the method for extracting blood plasma and later died on the steps of a hospital actually needing plasma himself, she said.\nJuniors April Casper and Lexi Kessans said they didn't realize some of the things Carson spoke about, such as how Edison had some help with the light bulb.\n"She opened my eyes to a lot of things," Casper said.