The Coca-Cola Company

Company Associates Preview "African American Lives"



February 10, 2006 edition

A very personal PBS series aired the first week in February, filling in history for nine accomplished African Americans, including Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, actor and comedian Chris Tucker and series host and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Kicking off Black History Month activities and reinforcing the Company‘s commitment to diversity, Atlanta-based employees were treated to a sneak preview of the PBS special "African American Lives," sponsored in part by The Coca-Cola Company.

The four-hour series that uses genealogy and DNA analysis to trace the lineage and personal histories of the featured guests is the brainchild of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the W.E.B. Du Bois professor of the Humanities and chair of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

Executive producer Bill Grant, Director of Science, Natural History and Features programming for Thirteen/WNET in New York, and Series Producer Leslie Farrell shared some of their experiences during a Q&A session with Ingrid Saunders Jones, Senior Vice President of the Company‘s Corporate External Affairs.

The African-American Employee Forum (AAEF) in Atlanta has planned a calendar of activities to mark the celebration of Black History Month in February. In addition to the Company‘s sponsorship of this PBS series and special African American displays and artwork featured at the Company‘s Atlanta offices, employees are encouraged to participate in community service, professional development, a film series and other special activities.

The Company, along with Proctor & Gamble, provided major funding for the development of "African American Lives." Co-producers of the program were Thirteen/Channel WNET and New York-based Kunhardt Productions.