APPLE RELEASES HEARTWARMING PRIDE VIDEO

Yesterday, Apple released a heartwarming video on its YouTube page documenting the company's preparation for and participation in last week's San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Apple writes:

On June 29, thousands of Apple employees and their families marched in the San Francisco Pride Parade. They came from around the world -- from cities as far as Munich, Paris, and Hong Kong -- to celebrate Apple's unwavering commitment to equality and diversity. Because we believe that inclusion inspires innovation.

According to Cult of Mac, employees dressed in special Pride T-shirts gave out $1 iTunes gift cards to parade-watchers as they passed by. CEO Tim Cook and environmental adviser Lisa P. Jackson were among the notables who marched with the Apple contingent.

MacRumors notes that Cook, who has never come out publicly but is widely believed to be gay, has a long history of publicly advocating for equality:

Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed a deep belief in equality in the past, supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which successfully added lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to the U.S.'s existing nondiscrimination law. He also spoke at Auburn University in December of 2013, noting that Apple has long had protections for LGBT employees.

During the Pride event, Tim Cook tweeted a congratulations to the 5,000 Apple employees and their families that attended the parade, saying "inclusion inspires innovation," the same line later used in the video.

SOURCE: THE BILERICO PROJECT