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BellSouth Honored for Diversity Efforts by Lawyers' Committee Presenting Them its Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award ATLANTA, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BellSouth Corporation was honored last night for its commitment to diversity with the prestigious A. Leon Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award presented by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-a http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-b http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-c ) "BellSouth's business practices reflect the spirit of equal opportunity embodied in our nation's democracy and exemplified in the life of Judge Higginbotham," said Barbara R. Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee. "By recognizing BellSouth's leadership and commitment to diversity, the Lawyers' Committee hopes other corporations will be inspired to replicate BellSouth's successful business model," added Arnwine. "For more than forty years, the Lawyers' Committee has held America to its promise of freedom and justice for all," said BellSouth CEO, Duane Ackerman. "We thank the Committee for this wonderful recognition. In the spirit of Judge Higginbotham's life and legacy, the award renews our resolve to continue BellSouth's journey of inclusion in our company and communities." At the awards ceremony in New York, BellSouth Chairman and CEO Duane Ackerman accepted the award, named in memory of Chief Judge A. Leon Higginbotham who served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. BellSouth Board Member and co-chair of the ceremony Rueben Anderson presented the award to Ackerman. BellSouth has been recognized as a diversity leader by many organizations over the years, including Fortune magazine, naming them as one of America's Best Companies for Minorities. The NAACP has recognized BellSouth as an industry leader, ranking the company as number one on its Telecommunications Industry Report card since the report's inception in 1998. BellSouth achievements in diversity within its supplier network were recognized in 2003 by the South Regions Minority Business Council awarding the company their prestigious Crystal Award. The Lawyers' Committee, a non partisan, non profit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers' Committee is to secure equal justice under the law using the skills and resources of the private bar to obtain equal opportunity for minorities by addressing factors that contribute to racial injustice and deny economic opportunities. The Higginbotham dinner also paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. A number of the original plaintiffs from the Brown decision and other school desegregation cases were recognized for their bravery and commitment to equal opportunity. About BellSouth Corporation BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and a parent company of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless voice and data provider. Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in the market. Through BellSouth Answers(SM), residential and small business customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial up and high speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and directory advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.com(sm) and The Real Yellow Pages(R). More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com/ . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-a http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-b http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/CLW074-c http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: BellSouth Corporation CONTACT: Angela Brooks of BellSouth, +1-404-249-2365; or Kim Alton of Lawyers' Committee, +1-202-662-8317 Web site: http://www.bellsouth.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html

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