Apple to Build Learning Centers in Atlanta and Detroit as Part of $100 Million USD Racial Equity Initiative
“We are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world.”
As part of Apple‘s $100 million USD Racial Equity and Justice Initiative announced earlier last year, the company has now announced a $25 million USD pledge towards Atlanta‘s Propel Center and the opening of a Developer Academy in Detroit.
Spearheaded by the tech giant and Southern Company, the Propel Center is a campus designed for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and will provide a education both virtually and through its physical campus in Atlanta. Students will gain access to everything from “innovative curricula” and tech support to career opportunities and fellowship programs, spanning across areas including AI and machine learning, agricultural technologies, social justice, entertainment arts, app development, augmented reality, design and creative arts, career preparation, and entrepreneurship.
Aside from the upcoming Propel Center, Apple will also be opening its Developer Academy in Detroit later this year in collaboration with the Michigan State University. Courses at the Academy will be open to everyone in the city regardless of their academic background or coding experience, and is aimed at empowering young Black entrepreneurs, creators and coders, helping them gain a step up in what Apple calls “the rapidly growing iOS app economy.”
“We are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world — and these new projects send a clear signal of Apple’s enduring commitment,” said the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook. “We’re launching REJI’s latest initiatives with partners across a broad range of industries and backgrounds — from students to teachers, developers to entrepreneurs, and community organizers to justice advocates — working together to empower communities that have borne the brunt of racism and discrimination for far too long. We are honored to help bring this vision to bear, and to match our words and actions to the values of equity and inclusion we have always prized at Apple.”
To learn more about the new initiatives, you can check out Apple’s full announcement.
Elsewhere in tech, Europol has just closed down the world’s largest dark web marketplace.
