Less than a week after the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol, ice cream makers Ben & Jerry’s came forward with a statement denouncing white supremacy. As Donald Trump leaves the White House, and President Joe Biden is sworn into office as the 46th president of the United States, America is at a pivotal moment in history. Will America reunited and worked together to deal with the deadly virus and systemic racism, or will the country continue to pull the wool over its eyes?
Although Ben & Jerry’s is a simple ice cream manufacturer, the company has always separated itself from the ice cream competition by fighting for social justice causes. Now the company has a message for white people – it is time for white people to step up and dismantle white supremacy.
“The events of January 6, 2021, were not a protest—it was a riot to uphold white supremacy,” wrote Ben & Jerry’s in a statement published online January 11, 2021. “It was allowed to happen. The mostly white insurrectionists roamed freely and without consequence through the heart of our democracy. The only explanation is that this was allowed to happen because they were white—not Black, Brown, or Indigenous people.
“The white mob that made its way to the dais of the US House of Representatives and the Senate, literally sitting in the chair the vice president had been in minutes before, is the ultimate embodiment of white privilege. We saw two Americas on January 6. In one America, we saw record voter turnout driven by Black voters that resulted in the election of the first Black and first Jewish senators from the state of Georgia—our democracy at its best.
“In second America, we saw a mostly white mob, encouraged by the president, violently invade the seat of our democracy in an attempt to overturn a free and fair election. It was a failed coup—our democracy in peril. Both of these Americas are us. Black and Brown people have long understood this. They’ve been exposed to the white tyranny that was on full display at the January 6 riot since the founding of our nation. It’s the double standard that undergirds white supremacy in our nation.
“Both of these Americas are us. How we respond to the events of January 6 will determine which America we will be. Resign, impeach, 25th Amendment… not one more day.”
Now that President Biden’s administration has begun, Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of the ice cream maker, believes that the country needs to take a closer look at criminal justice reform.
“I think we need to start with accountability for police,” Greenfield said. “You know, there are essential functions that police perform, and that is a wonderful thing. But, there are often times when police are not operating at their best, let’s say it that way. And quite simply, there is no accountability for police. We’re not going to have trust between communities and police until the police start having some accountability. Yet, for police, there is a legal doctrine called qualified immunity, which essentially shields them from accountability.”
What do you think about Ben & Jerry’s call to white people to end white supremacy?