In a Twitter post for Independence Day, the official account for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream posted a graphic to recognize that the United States was “founded on stolen indigenous land.” But this wasn’t just a Twitter post on behalf of the company; listed on their website was an entire page for virtue signaling.
Their website centers around “the land back movement,” claiming that rights and freedoms should be “restored” to indigenous people. Notably, they cite Mount Rushmore as a monument that sits on stolen Native American land.
It doesn’t just stop there. Ben & Jerry’s accuses the United States of being a “system of oppression” rooted in white supremacy. It also calls on Americans to acknowledge the country exists on “stolen land.”
“But what is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom? The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights.“
Ben & Jerry’s Website
Ben and Jerry’s isn’t new to being a social justice warrior brand. During the BLM protests, the company published an article on its website geared towards “dismantling white supremacy.”
The company has also been outspoken regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, under a page titled “Issues We Care About,” many ESG score-earning titles are seen including “Racial Injustices,” “LGBTQ+ Rights,” “Climate Justice,” “ReImagine Criminal Justice,” and more.
In 2015, the company pushed an entire campaign about marriage equality when same-sex marriage became legal in the united states. The campaign included a flavor named “I Dough, I Dough.” During this time the company also posted a video in support of same-sex marriage.
In 2020, the company released a flavor titled “Justice Remixed” and in 2022, Ben & Jerry’s launched a new flavor, “Change is Brewing” in response to the People’s Response Act, which has endorsed converting detention centers into “community-led holistic care center[s].”
Ben & Jerry’s has been one of the most candidly anti-conservative businesses in the country for years. Despite this, they have largely gone unnamed when conservatives initiate boycotts. It’s time for the right to come together and boycott a company promoting values that are perverse and destructive.
