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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Terri Denard Angela Hall
BellSouth Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
terri.denard@bellsouth.com ahall@bcri.org
205-972-2984 205-328-9696, x211
BELLSOUTH PARTNERS WITH THE BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE TO LAUNCH NEW WEB SITE
-- Civil Rights History Now Available on the World Wide Web --
(BIRMINGHAM, AL) – January 19, 2004 – The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI), in partnership with BellSouth Corporation, today launched its newly designed Web site, bringing civil rights history to the world. The site, www.bcri.org, features the BCRI Oral History Project, a collection of videotaped interviews with participants in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The interactive site also includes a monthly calendar, archival information for research, membership information and a teaching curriculum.
"The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a beacon of equality for mankind regardless of age, race and background," said Dr. Lawrence Pijeaux, Jr., BCRI Executive Director. "In striving to fulfill our mission, we have played a significant role in generating worldwide interest in our city's impact on the American Civil Rights Movement and current international human rights issues. To that end, we recognize the power of technology to enhance our content and provide worldwide accessibility to our educational resources. This Web site project will position the Institute in the global arena and become the signature of the Institute's second decade of service."
BellSouth is contributing volunteers as well as financial support to the Web site project. "This project opens the doors of BCRI to the world from which many will benefit," said Tom Hamby, President of BellSouth in Alabama. "The Institute is now technically equipped to provide history to countless educational outlets where first-hand accounts of the Movement can be valuable to the learning process."
The Web site is designed by Melia Design Group (MDG) of Atlanta, Georgia. A major component of the site will be the online oral history interviews. Initially, the launch will include 25 interviews and that number will be expanded over time. The Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth, a civil rights leader who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is featured in one interview segment. "Birmingham's story is one of a struggle for freedom—a struggle deeply rooted in faith," said Shuttlesworth, now serving as Interim President of SCLC. "Visitors to this Web site, from all around the world, will have an opportunity to hear our stories. It should give many an appreciation for the freedoms they enjoy today. For others, it will let them know that the road to freedom is laden with land mines and open pits. Through the Web site experience, visitors may better understand the necessity of the struggle and have a fuller appreciation for the fruits of Birmingham's labor."
About the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI), located in Downtown Birmingham, Alabama, opened its doors in November of 1992. Its mission is to encourage communication and reconciliation of human rights issues worldwide and to serve as a repository for civil and human rights archives and documents. The Institute's vision is to become a national and international center of healing that promotes mutual understanding and respect among all people.
The Institute uses multimedia to enhance its facility while telling the story of the American Civil Rights Movement. In 1999, with the opening of the Richard Arrington, Jr. Resource Gallery, the Institute made a leap of its own by providing visitors with interactive computer access to an enormous volume of information. BCRI is now at a crossroad. The new Web site is the Institute's first step in creating the world's largest oral history global mass medium library, which will house significant interviews about local, national and international civil and human rights issues.
About Melia Design Group
Melia Design Group (MDG), established in 1982, is one of the nation's best interactive storytellers, effectively working in multiple media, including Internet/Web, Flash, print, video and CD-ROM. The company is a multidisciplinary, digital studio that mixes brand development and 20 years of communication design with a high level of technological expertise. Focused on design as it impacts communications, MDG's portfolio includes a range of clients from large, international brands to non-profit institutions such as Clark Atlanta University, the College Board, High Museum of Art, National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Folkways.
About BellSouth Corporation BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth serves more than 45 million local, long distance, Internet and wireless customers in the United States and 13 other countries.
Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides complete communications solutions to residential and business markets. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access and long distance, advanced voice features and other services. The company's BellSouth AnswersSM package combines local and long distance service with an array of calling features; wireless data, voice and e-mail services; and high-speed DSL or dial-up Internet service and Cingular Wireless. In the business market, BellSouth serves small, medium and large businesses by providing secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services through BellSouth® RealPages.comSM and The Real Yellow Pages®.
BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless company, which provides innovative data and voice services.
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