Tim Cook Accepts Ripple of Hope Award at RFK Center Benefit

Apple CEO Tim Cook accepted the Ripple of Hope Award at a benefit in New York for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, reports Bloomberg.

Speaking for almost 12 minutes, the Apple boss touched on the headlines of the day, including the Syrian refugee crisis, privacy debates related to counter-terrorism efforts, climate change and Apple’s donation of products to public schools.

“Today, more than half of the states in this country still don’t offer basic protections to gay or transgender people, leaving millions of people vulnerable to being fired or evicted because of who they are or who they love,” Cook said.


"Today, some in our country would turn away innocent men, women and children seeking refuge,” Cook said, “regardless of how many background checks they may submit to, simply based on where they were born. Victims of war and now victims of fear and misunderstanding."

"Today, too many children are denied access to quality education simply because of the zip code they live in. They begin their lives facing strong headwinds and disadvantage they did nothing to deserve. We could do better, Robert Kennedy would say, and because we can do better, we must act."

Cook has raised funds for the RFK Center in the past by auctioning off lunches and coffee that have raised over $1 million.

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