Overview

For four decades, Central City Productions has specialized in the production, syndication, distribution and advertising sales of Black entertainment television programs such as: The Stellar Gospel Music Awards, the Minority Business Report, and the Soul Train music Awards just to mention a few. CCP has produced over 1,000 shows for Broadcast television. CCP is a recognized giant in the industry for launching the first ever Black Nielsen Household Ratings Survey from which all Black TV shows are measured today by the advertising industry.

Talent/Industry Support

Major stars who have appeared in CCP productions include Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Magic Johnson, Arsenio Hall, Patti LaBelle, Steve Harvey, Eddie Murphy, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. CCP industry affiliations are with the following outlets that carry CCP shows: ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, WB, UPN and the Tribune Broadcasting Company and independent stations worldwide.

Advertising Partners

Major Fortune 500 companies who have sponsored CCP shows for the past 31 years include such national advertisers as Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats, Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Kraft, K-Mart, Ford, Budweiser, Toyota, Diamler Chrysler, McDonalds, Denny's Burger King, AT & T, Sears, Chevrolet, Southwest Airlines, American Family, State Farm, and United Airlines.

Production Credits

As one of the leaders in Black targeted entertainment television programs, CCP's production credits include: Celebrate the Soul of American Music; Family Night; Living the Dream; the NAACP ACT-SO Awards; the Know Your Heritage Game Show; Roads to Success; the Minority Business Report; the Bud Billiken Back-to-School Parade; Martin: The Emancipator; Taste of the Holidays; The Kwanzaa Awards; Black History Makers; and the Stellar Awards Gospel Music Festival in celebration of Mother's Day.

Don Jackson is the founder, chairman, and CEO of 40-year-old CENTRAL CITY PRODUCTIONS, Inc., a national television production, sales, and syndication company based in Chicago, IL.

Mr. Jackson is a Chicago native who graduated from Marshall High School, where he played on the school’s championship basketball team. He attended Northwestern University on a basketball scholarship and was captain of the University’s basketball team. Mr. Jackson earned his B.S. in Radio, TV, and Film from Northwestern in 1965.

After graduating from Northwestern, Mr. Jackson worked in the media and broadcast industries in sales at WBEE & WVON radio. He became the youngest and first African American sales manager at WVON, the top radio station in the Chicago market at the time.

In 1970, Mr. Jackson founded CENTRAL CITY MARKETING, INC. For over three decades the company has specialized in marketing, promotion, sales, and the production of media and television programs for Black Americans.

Today, CENTRAL CITY PRODUCTIONS, INC., is the full-service company that produces, syndicates, and manages advertising sales for all of the company’s local and national television programs. Central City Productions’ mission is to develop, produce, and market television programming which is designed to communicate positive, uplifting images of Black people all over the world.

Under his guidance and vision, CCP has launched many new and unique television programs to Black Americans nationwide. Many of these programs have more than 25 years of consecutive airing over local and national television, including:

The “Bud Billiken Back-to-School Parade”

The “Black Enterprise Business Report”

The “Stellar Gospel Music Awards”

“Know Your Heritage”

“Black College Quiz”

“Our World with Black Enterprise”

Mr. Jackson also gives back to the community as a member of several organizations. He is the former chairman of the board of the DuSable Museum of African American History and has served on the boards of Junior Achievement of Chicago, Columbia College and the Gateway Foundation. He has also previously served on the Northwestern University Board and Chicago Transit Authority Board.

In addition, Mr. Jackson is the founder and a member of A.B.L.E. (Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs), which is the first business organization bringing Black Leaders together in the business community to network, to address business issues and to provide a legacy for future African American entrepreneurs.

He has received numerous awards for his business accomplishments and community involvement.

Mr. Jackson is married to Rosemary Jackson. The couple has two adult children and two grandsons, Donovan and Dain. Their daughter Rhonda is a graduate of Syracuse University, and their son Baba Dainja graduated from the University of Minnesota.

Erma Davis is the President and COO of Central City Productions, a 40-year-old television production, sales, and syndication company based in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Davis joined Central City Productions after an 11-year career in management at the McDonald’s Corporation.

Her primary role at McDonald’s was International Technology Strategist for Asia Pacific and Latin America. Erma was also the International Year 2000 Strategist for all countries except the United States. Her international strategies were adopted by the McDonald's Corporation’s Auditors. While performing the direct duties assigned to her, she also developed and implemented a school-to-work program for an inner-city high school (Wells Academy) that was designed to keep at-risk students in school. The McDonald's National Youth Apprenticeship Program was modeled after this program.

The majority of Ms. Davis’ career has been spent in the information technology field (I/T) working for well-known companies such as Bell Laboratories, the Veterans Administration, CNA Insurance, and McDonald’s Corporation. She has had broad exposure to the major functional areas in the I/T organization and has had direct responsibility for many of them.

Ms. Davis is a native of Chicago who graduated from Marshall High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Roosevelt University. She also earned her master’s degree in Management from National College of Education (now known as National-Louis University). Ms. Davis was also a certified Diversity Facilitator for the McDonald’s Corporation and has a certificate from the Center for Creative Leadership.

Ms. Davis has been in “Who’s Who in the World of Women,” “Who’s Who in American Women,” and “Who’s Who in International Women.” She is affiliated with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Women in Management (WIM), the American Management Association, The Society for Information Management (SIM), Youth Motivation Programs, and Leadership Illinois.

Ms. Davis is married to Dan Davis, a Retired Professor from Malcolm X College who currently serves as National Sales Director for Central City Productions.