Turner Broadcasting Gives $1 Million for Civil Rights Center

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Turner Broadcasting has made the first significant monetary contribution to Atlanta's proposed Center for Civil and Human Rights. The $1 million donation will go toward pre-development work.

Ground is not expected to be broken on the center until the end of 2008, at the earliest. That may seem like a long time away, but Doug Shipman says the Turner donation is timely.

Shipman is Executive Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership.

SHIPMAN: This is really allowing us to get off to a very quick start in the planning and really bringing this to reality.

Ultimately, the whole project will cost an estimated $125 million. Shipman hopes that Turner's contribution will encourage other businesses to fund the center.

Coca Cola has already made a donation in the form of land. It has offered a downtown parcel in the Centennial Park area as a location for the center.