Following the tragic church shootings in South Carolina on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken to Twitter to urge more action in tackling racism. He tweeted sympathy for the victims’ families and said that symbols and words that encourage racism should be removed.
The tweet, made on Sunday, read: “My thoughts are with the victim’s families in SC. Let us honor their lives by eradicating racism & removing the symbols & words that feed it”. Many Twitter users have perceived Cook to be advocating the removal of the Confederate battle flag – a move which has also been urged by activists after the racially-motivated massacre.
Another tech boss calling for the flag’s removal was Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, who tweeted agreement with a tweet from former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reading: “Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.”