14 DAY TRIAL // An advocate for human rights and equality, Apple and its CEO Tim Cook decided to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today with a giant poster on the home page of Apple.com.
In the usual fashion, Apple does away with all the product advertising to make the initiative as truthful as possible: “Today we reflect on the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the work that continues in service of the broader concerns of humanity,” reads the message accompanying Dr. King’s photo.
Cook again wants to give back to the world
Tim Cook himself took to Twitter to announce the initiative, sliding in the #MLK hashtag. Martin Luther King day is something that US corporations celebrate by usually giving their employees a day off. Apple will instead donate $50 for every voluntary hour worked by its employees today, according to reports.
Tim Cook is a huge supporter of Dr. King’s work, and he once admitted to keeping a photo of the activist right on his desk. In an essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook revealed some of his thoughts about racial and gender equality, as well as the fact that he himself was part of a controversial minority (being gay), and invoked Dr. King as a true inspiration in his decision to openly express these feelings.
In just three years under Cook’s guidance, Apple has done more charity and advocacy than ever before.
#MLK:There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular but he must take it because..it is right.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 19, 2015