We Make It Better. Eric Rosswood

freedom” bills (laws that would legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people if done for religious reasons), wrote a statement to the Human Rights Campaign in support of the Equality Act (a bill that would provide protections from discrimination for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, education, and other key areas of life), and he even got Apple to file a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the US Supreme Court, urging them to overturn same-sex marriage bans. When the court finally ruled that marriage equality was legal across the country, Cook celebrated by marching in the San Francisco Pride Parade with approximately eight thousand Apple employees.

      Cook has also used his platform, and Apple’s position of influence in the world, to stand up on other social issues, such as racism, immigration, and climate change. For example, after the 2017 alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one counterprotester dead and nineteen people injured, Cook pledged one million dollars in donations to both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. In 2017, Apple joined other companies in filing a joint court brief against Trump’s stringent Executive Order on Immigration, which halted entry of all refugees and banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The companies all agreed that increased background checks were important, but so was America’s commitment to welcoming immigrants. The brief made the claim that “Immigrants do not take jobs away from US citizens—they create them,” while pointing out that immigrants or their children founded more than two hundred of the Fortune 500 companies, including Apple. In his role as CEO of the largest tech company in the world, Tim Cook has proved that LGBTQ people can be great business leaders. Ironically, even more than his stellar leadership, big heart, and generous financial contributions, Cook’s forthright example as the most recognizable gay person in the public eye is likely to have the most far-reaching impact on all youth, both queer and straight.

      Part 3

      Dance

      Bill T. Jones

      Dancer and Tony Award–Winning Choreographer

      “We can get up and do it over again, better.”

      When it comes to modern dance, Bill T. Jones is one of the most notable choreographers and directors of our time. He was born the tenth of twelve children to migrant potato pickers and studied at Binghamton University, which he attended on a special program for underprivileged students. While there, he studied West African and Afro-Caribbean dance, classical ballet, and modern dance. From there, he went on to become the Artistic Director of New York Live Arts and Artistic Director/Co-Founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.

      Politics, race, and social issues have often been themes in Jones’ work. As a longtime AIDS survivor, HIV and AIDS have frequently been highlighted in his pieces. He choreographed Absence, which showcased heartrending performances that expressed his grief following the death of his partner, Arnie Zane, who died of AIDS-related lymphoma. In 1994, he choreographed Still/Here, a controversial piece that explored mortality and what it’s like to live with a life-threatening medical diagnosis. His work gained national attention, and in that year, he graced the cover of Time magazine.

      Jones also made a significant mark on the Broadway stage. In 2007, he won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for the musical, Spring Awakening, the story of a nineteenth-century German schoolgirl coming of age and the collective rebellion of German teens in an era of repression and structure. In 2010, he again won the Tony Award for Best Choreography, this time for FELA!, a musical based on the life of Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat musician and activist who was jailed numerous times in his young life and was severely beaten after speaking out against the Nigerian army. Jones has received prestigious honors for his provocative work that spans decades. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009, and was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2010. He was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and was even chosen for the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2013. When it comes to performance arts, Bill T. Jones has definitely left his mark.