Ben & Jerry’s has a solid track record of standing for equality and telling it like it is — so we’re not surprised the beloved ice cream brand is calling for justice for George Floyd.
On Tuesday, the company released a statement calling for justice in the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by police and condemning the “inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy.”
Ben & Jerry’s also called out instances of violence perpetrated by police against protesters at Black Lives Matter demonstrations that have been ongoing since the George Floyd’s murder.
“All of us at Ben & Jerry’s are outraged about the murder of another Black person by Minneapolis police officers last week and the continued violent response by police against protestors,” the company began. “We have to speak out. We have to stand together with the victims of murder, marginalization, and repression because of their skin color, and with those who seek justice through protests across our country. We have to say his name: George Floyd.”
Taking things a step further, the company drew attention to the country’s history of racial violence and white supremacy.
“The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy,” the company wrote. 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.”
It was one hell of a statement. Click here to read the statement in full.
The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy. https://t.co/YppGJKHkyN pic.twitter.com/YABzgQMf69
— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) June 2, 2020
