Apple Now Accepting Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center Following Charlottesville Protests

As planned, Apple is now accepting donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based non-profit organization, through iTunes. The donation prompt was spotted by Twitter user setteBIT.

SPLC Logo
iTunes users in the United States can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 with a credit card tied to their account. Apple will transfer 100 percent of the proceeds to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which says it is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, protecting civil rights, and seeking justice.

Following a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists and supremacists clashed with counter-protestors over the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, Apple said it will be making contributions of $1 million each to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.

Apple said it will also match two-for-one its employees' donations to those and several other human rights groups, between now and September 30.

Apple has also disabled Apple Pay support on websites selling white nationalist and hate group apparel and accessories. Apple's guidelines prevent Apple Pay from being used on sites promoting hate, intolerance, and violence based on race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook's full letter to employees was obtained by MacRumors:

Team,

Like so many of you, equality is at the core of my beliefs and values. The events of the past several days have been deeply troubling for me, and I’ve heard from many people at Apple who are saddened, outraged or confused.

What occurred in Charlottesville has no place in our country. Hate is a cancer, and left unchecked it destroys everything in its path. Its scars last generations. History has taught us this time and time again, both in the United States and countries around the world.

We must not witness or permit such hate and bigotry in our country, and we must be unequivocal about it. This is not about the left or the right, conservative or liberal. It is about human decency and morality. I disagree with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights. Equating the two runs counter to our ideals as Americans.

Regardless of your political views, we must all stand together on this one point — that we are all equal. As a company, through our actions, our products and our voice, we will always work to ensure that everyone is treated equally and with respect.

I believe Apple has led by example, and we’re going to keep doing that. We have always welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world and showed them that Apple is inclusive of everyone. We empower people to share their views and express themselves through our products.

In the wake of the tragic and repulsive events in Charlottesville, we are stepping up to help organizations who work to rid our country of hate. Apple will be making contributions of $1 million each to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. We will also match two-for-one our employees’ donations to these and several other human rights groups, between now and September 30.

In the coming days, iTunes will offer users an easy way to join us in directly supporting the work of the SPLC.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” So, we will continue to speak up. These have been dark days, but I remain as optimistic as ever that the future is bright. Apple can and will play an important role in bringing about positive change.

Best,
Tim

Southern Poverty Law Center operates offices in four U.S. states, including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Apple says iTunes Store credit cannot be used to make a donation. The fine print also says donations may not qualify for a tax deduction.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...
11th gen ipad blue

Apple to Launch New Low-Cost 11-Inch iPad in the Spring

Friday July 11, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will launch a new 12th generation entry-level iPad in the spring of next year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is said to have two versions of the entry-level 11-inch iPad in development, codenamed J581 and J582. These could refer to different storage capacities – in which case, Apple may be planning to drop the existing lowest capacity option. The current iPad 11 is...

Top Rated Comments

Starflyer Avatar
103 months ago
12 Ways The Southern Poverty Law Center Is A Scam To Profit From Hate-Mongering

http://thefederalist.com/2017/05/17/12-ways-southern-poverty-law-center-scam-profit-hate-mongering/
[doublepost=1503317259][/doublepost]The Insidious Influence of the SPLC
Its branding of ‘hate groups’ and individuals is biased, sometimes false—and feeds polarization.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-insidious-influence-of-the-splc-1498085416


How Did Maajid Nawaz End Up on a List of 'Anti-Muslim Extremists'? ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-now-accepting-donations-to-southern-poverty-law-center-following-charlottesville-protests.2062760/threads/apple-now-accepting-donations-to-southern-poverty-law-center-following-charlottesville-protests.2062760/#post-24916356')
“They put a target on my head.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/interna...ajid-nawaz-splc-anti-muslim-extremist/505685/ ('https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/maajid-nawaz-splc-anti-muslim-extremist/505685/')
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
827538 Avatar
103 months ago
I could be wrong but aren't they quite a hateful borderline racist group? Why would Apple support this?

I wish Apple stayed out of politics.
Score: 87 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brendu Avatar
103 months ago
I wish Apple wasn’t doing this. Not because I don’t support donating. I totally do. I just think this group in particular is too biased to be fair. They label people as part of hate groups for having religous beliefs that don’t line up with their world view. It’s sad that they are being treated as such a great cause when they have actually slandered people who aren’t “hateful” at all. If anything I would classify them as a hate group for the way they treat anyone right of center politically.
Score: 80 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Starflyer Avatar
103 months ago
You guys would think Toys'R'Us was a left wing terrorist organization if Fox News told you it.
And you would believe Chick-Fil-A was a hate group if the SPLC said it.
Score: 67 Votes (Like | Disagree)
crawfish963 Avatar
103 months ago
Very disappointing. Apple needs to steer clear of politics like this. Look at CNN, ESPN, etc. to see what happens when you shove political agendas down people’s throats.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krause734 Avatar
103 months ago
Tim Cook, Chief Executive Social Justice Warrior
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)