Apple’s announcement about its proposed North Carolina East Coast headquarters is supposedly “imminent,” but not everyone is happy about it. Last month, activists were reportedly “livid” about the location due to its history of LGBT-unfriendly laws. Now another advocacy group is accusing the region of racism, related to the state’s new voter ID proposal.
The advocacy group in question is a civil rights group called Color of Change. It is upset about North Carolina’s voter ID bill on the grounds that it allegedly discriminates against African-Americans. This bill was announced by the state’s House Republicans on Thursday.
Tell @Amazon & @Apple to reject racism and say “NO” to North Carolina’s racist attacks on voting rights https://t.co/qrNsMFbJDi pic.twitter.com/EcdKMIzr46
— ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) June 6, 2018
“REJECT RACISM … Make your Raleigh campus contingent on EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL your employees … Vote NO on racist voter ID laws!” the advocacy group said in an ad.
They hope to prompt Apple and Amazon (which is also meant to be headed to the area for an HQ) to reconsider their choice.
Brandi Collins-Dexter, the senior campaign director for Color of Change, told the News & Observer newspaper that companies need to show that, “disenfranchising the black vote should be bad for business.”
Apple’s investment in North Carolina
Apple’s new headquarters alone would bring around 10,000 jobs to Raleigh, North Carolina, including major investment in its Research Triangle Park, close to the University of North Carolina, NC State and Duke University. The company’s total investment is likely to be in the range of $1.5 billion to $2 billion, with jobs that pay an average of $130,000 per year.
One government source previously said that this would be, “by far the biggest project this state’s ever seen as far as average salaries, number of jobs.”
Apple has not yet responded to any of the backlash against its possible HQ location. However, Tim Cook has in the past voiced his opposition to any discriminatory laws that “rationalize injustice.”
Should Apple make its choice of location official in the weeks to come, I’d be very surprised if we don’t hear about more advocacy groups campaigning against the decision.
