BRIMINGHAM, Ala. – The CEO of Apple is giving a large amount of money to help with the cost of a gay rights initiative in three southern states, including Mississippi.
Tim Cook, who is from Alabama, is the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. “We hope Tim Cook’s substantial personal investment inspires others to support this vital and historic project,” said Jason Rahlan, a spokesperson for the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, after announcing the contribution Thursday. Rahlan would not disclose the amount of Cook’s donation, but called it “substantial.”
The Group plans to use the money to help finance Project One America, a three-year, $8.5 million campaign launched in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas in April. The purpuse of the Human Rights Campaign’s t-v and other advertisements for Project One America is to improve acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Ads already airing in Mississippi features a state senator and a Baptist Sunday School teacher who are parents of gay children.
