Many Think Ben & Jerry's "Dismantle White Supremacy" Is The Only Good Brand Response
"Ben & Jerry's" ice cream is no stranger to advocating for social change. Last year, the company released a flavor called "Justice Remix'd," an insane combination of cinnamon bun dough and spicy fudge brownie that benefited the Advancement Project National Office, which supports prison reforms. The flavor comes about four years after the company publicly stated their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
So it's not too surprising that they had something to say on the topic of the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody after a former officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Yesterday, the company tweeted a link to their statement, "We Must Dismantle White Supremacy," a nuanced response from a multi-million dollar company that's rarely seen on brand Twitter.
"The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy," they write in the statement available on their website. "What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a bad apple; it was the predictable consequence of a racist and prejudiced system and culture that has treated Black bodies as the enemy from the beginning."
"What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis is the fruit borne of toxic seeds planted on the shores of our country in Jamestown in 1619, when the first enslaved men and women arrived on this continent. Floyd is the latest in a long list of names that stretches back to that time and that shore. Some of those names we know -- Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr. -- most we don’t."
The company goes on to offer clear action items that they believe will help "dismantle white supremacy in all its forms." These include calling on the President, elected officials and political parties to "commit our nation to a formal process of healing and reconciliation" and passing H.R. 40, a piece of legislation "that would create a commission to study the effects of slavery and discrimination from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies." They also call for a bipartisan task force "aimed at ending racial violence and increasing police accountability;" and calling on the Department of Justice to "reinvigorate its Civil Rights Division as a staunch defender of the rights of Black and Brown people."
It's certainly a bit heavier than, say, the Washington Redskins posting a black square on Twitter.
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/HANYZN6BXN
— Washington Redskins (@Redskins) June 2, 2020
Unlike the Redskins response, which really didn't go over well, the Ben & Jerry's response is being praised throughout Twitter.
Holy shit this Ben & Jerry's statement. https://t.co/fKXlLCZ0Vl pic.twitter.com/YISf0LYaeP
— Moneybagg Yo(hannes) 🇪🇷 (@AronYohannes) June 2, 2020
ben & Jerry’s statement is by far the best statement i have ever read pic.twitter.com/BvzR6Vn2Wp
— ً (@bloodlineyuna) June 2, 2020
Every other basic response: “We stand with our black employees :)”Ben & Jerry’s: “WE GOTTA FUCKIN SMASH WHITE SUPREMACY. FUCK THE KKK AND FUCK YOU. BLACK LIVES MATTER. OUR NEW FLAVOR IS CALLED FUCK THE POLICE. ITS GOT BLUEBERRIES”
— 🧚🏼♀️ (@angelt333th) June 3, 2020
read the Ben & Jerry’s statement on BLM and George Floyd and recognize how pathetically short every precious ivory tower’s statement falls in comparison to two dudes selling ice cream pic.twitter.com/OOuaqIVlu2
— que cera cera (@axtang) June 2, 2020
why did Ben and Jerry’s statement on dismantling white supremacy educate me more about black history than 12 years of sitting in history class? pic.twitter.com/NiWE1ETi8s
— francine (@francine_lubin) June 2, 2020
Ben & Jerry's didn't send their prayers.They sent receipts and the chopper.This is the template for corporate responses going forward or they're being disregarded. https://t.co/NlsqP6FNDj
— Keith Nelson Jr (@JusAire) June 2, 2020
Ben and Jerry's political sentiments went viral less than two months ago when they released a statement on cannabis justice on April 20th, aka 420.
ben and jerry’s said let’s talk pic.twitter.com/Bj1ZJHmfNK
— leah (@R0WDYD0WDY) April 20, 2020
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Wambamsamman
oh look the company that sells the thing fat single white cat ladies stuff into their faces is posting platitudes for extreme leftism on the twitter
fucking good ice cream though
DirkDiggums
TBF vanilla as the "base" flavor makes no sense to me. Chocolate seems like a much better "base" flavor. We must stop vanilla supremacy I mean have you even tried rocky road ice cream? It's diverse as fuck and delicious, makes vanilla taste like a2m skeet.
WarLordM
Vanilla supremacy you mean
RemChi
Everyday we stray closer and closer to Shadowrun.
Vulture051
Cool. Let's start with them.
TheTechnoBot
As a non-American, dismantling the entire US and whatever absurd form of capitalism this is where companies go out to make political statements on social media seems like the best thing to do.
I swear America is some kind of abstract fantasy-land at this point. Nothing makes sense anymore.