Wokeness in a bowl

Ben and Jerry’s latest creation supports defunding American cops

Ben & Jerry’s is set to release a new ice cream flavour that has coffee, marshmallow, fudge and social justice awareness?

The cold-brew coffee ice cream with marshmallow swirls and fudge brownies is called Change is Brewing. The new flavour is in support of a $10-billion bill by U.S. Rep. Cori Bush that would replace police officers with social workers and other first responders in incidents related to mental health and substance abuse.

“Grab your spoon and dig into a flavour boldly celebrating safety and liberation for all,” said a description on the website. “It’s time to divest from systems that criminalize Black communities and invest in a vision of public safety that allows everyone to breathe free.”

The company announced the limited-edition ice cream during a Monday news conference featuring Jabari Pall, Ben & Jerry’s corporate activism manager, alongside Bush.

“The flavour supports the vision of the world in which every community is safe and everyone, including Black and brown people, can thrive,” Pall said.

Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with the Movement for Black Lives for their latest activism endeavour. The flavour was developed in partnership with Black-owned coffee and tea company Blk & Bold and New York’s Greyston Bakery, known for its brownies.

The graphic on the ice cream carton features a Black woman painting the word “liberation.”

The $10-billion People’s Response Act, proposed in June by Bush, aims to cut down on police violence against people with mental illnesses and other health issues.

The community safety division within the Department of Health and Human Services would be tasked with funding and co-ordinating research and offering grant programs to promote “non-carceral, health-centred investments in public safety” at the state and local levels.

The company, which was established in 1978, has never shied away from promoting its political beliefs through statements and partnerships, as well as its mission for social change.

In 2016, it showed its support for Black Lives Matter, specifically calling out police shootings.

“Systemic and institutionalized racism are the defining civil rights and social justice issues of our time,” according to a blog post. “We’ve come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of Black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats.”

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the company spoke up about dismantling white supremacy, staunchly stating “silence is not an option.

“The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy,” said a blog post. “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.”