Apple CEO Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Racism, Discrimination

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook called on his company to “do more” to fight systemic injustices and racial inequality in an open letter responding to the protests sweeping the U.S. this week.

“To create change, we have to reexamine our own views and actions in light of a pain that is deeply felt but too often ignored,” Cook said in a letter posted on the iPhone maker's website. “Issues of human dignity will not abide standing on the sidelines. To the Black community -- we see you. You matter and your lives matter.”

Cook made the comments as protests against police brutality gripped the U.S. following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a police office kneeled on his neck.

Earlier this week, Cook had sent the letter to employees as an internal memo where he also pledged that the company would donate to a number of groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit focusing on racial injustice. The iPhone maker will also offer a two-for-one match for employee donations in the month of June.

Read more: Apple's Cook Says ‘Painful Past Is Still Present Today' in Memo

Cook said Apple would “commit to continuing our work to bring critical resources and technology to underserved school systems,” as well as “fight the forces of environmental injustice -- like climate change -- which disproportionately harm Black communities and other communities of color.” Protections for people are “still not universally applied” as he discussed discrimination and inequality in the U.S.

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