Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post declaring his company's commitment to "never tolerate discrimination."

"There’s something very dangerous happening in states across the country," Cook wrote. He said the recent "wave of legislation" of religious freedom bills, particularly in Indiana, are taking the country back to "Whites Only" segregation. 

"We must never return to any semblance of that time," Cook wrote. "America must be a land of opportunity for everyone."

Cook made it clear that Apple is a business meant to "empower and enrich" its customers and handle business in a "just and fair" way. "That's why, on behalf of Apple, I’m standing up to oppose this new wave of legislation — wherever it emerges," he wrote.

Stating that this has nothing to do with religion, Cook, who is openly gay, specifically noted that he was raised and baptized in a Baptist church as a child and that faith remains an "important" part of his life.

He remembered experiencing discrimination growing up in the South in the '60s and '70s:

Discrimination isn’t something that’s easy to oppose. It doesn’t always stare you in the face. It moves in the shadows. And sometimes it shrouds itself within the very laws meant to protect us.

Cook defined his company's mission: "Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love… we will never tolerate discrimination."

Cook concluded:

This isn’t a political issue. It isn’t a religious issue. This is about how we treat each other as human beings. Opposing discrimination takes courage. With the lives and dignity of so many people at stake, it’s time for all of us to be courageous.