Ben & Jerry’s on Monday released a new ice cream flavor called “Change is Brewing” in coordination with Movement 4 Black Lives and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who vehemently oppose funding for the police, the New York Post reported.
The company will donate some proceeds from sales to “grassroots groups working to transform public safety in America” by defunding local law enforcement departments and replacing them with political activists, social workers, and new welfare programs.
Ben & Jerry’s U.S. Activism Manager Jabari Pall said in announcing the flavor that it “supports the vision of the world in which every community is safe and everyone including black and brown people can thrive.”
On its website, Ben & Jerry’s further describes the mission of Change is Brewing, a “cold brew coffee ice cream with marshmallow swirls and fudge brownies.”
“Grab your spoon & dig into a flavor boldly celebrating safety & liberation for all,” Ben & Jerry’s proclaims. “It’s time to divest from systems that criminalize Black communities & invest in a vision of public safety that allows everyone to breathe free. Learn more about a visionary plan to reimagine public safety and take action below!”
The Change is Brewing container depicts a multi-colored background and a black woman who is wearing yellow and painting the word “Liberation.”
Ben & Jerry’s directs to links about activist art, activists interviews, and information about The People’s Response Act, a $10 billion bill introduced by Bush that redefines a “first responder” as everything except a police officer.
The new category of so-called first responders may include a “peer support worker, peer, teacher, mentor, counselor, peer support specialist, violence intervention worker, and other community-members with relevant experience.”
Bush has consistently advocate for her own private security and law enforcement, but she believes that police cause more harm than good in America’s majority-black areas.
“Our healthcare, our education, our housing, our green spaces all left in shambles while our police spending per capita continued to increase to its present level as one of the highest in the country,” she said.
Yet, Bush’s private security spending may reach any number that it needs to keep her safe.
“If I end up spending $200,000, if I spend $10 more dollars on it — you know what, I get to be here to do the work. So suck it up,” she said.
