I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Systemic Reform.
The fact that America exists as a powerhouse to the rest of the world — not only in opportunity, but in freedom, is a historical path marred by lives — black lives - who society did not deem complicit enough to abide by societal “guidelines”. That statement is redundant — to abide by guidelines is to be complicit. The facade our country paints over the disenfranchised and marginalized is a race and power structure that has too long existed. And what of the memories of those whose suffering prolongs archaic savagery in this day and age? Tossed aside, the way a small child does an old toy.
But America is not the same country it once was. It has seen adversity adapt and evolve as they have. Movements for public reform— ones that should have been listened to decades ago- regain their ground, more powerful than ever.The crescendo, I feel, is slowly coming together. Complacency is no longer remaining the norm, and voices are coming from those in a society that were given a voice in the first place. How they respond dictates their character as a brand, and as a representative to society itself.
There are two levels of action a business in this time will usually take — whether that serves to save face financially, or to thrust itself as an ally to this institutional cause. It’s very easy to fall into the pit of releasing a statement as a form of support, but this is a mere speck in the realm of possibilities during this time.
The first thing you notice about the Ben and Jerry’s website isn’t the wackadoodle flavors that practically sell themselves on imagery alone. It feels more like a public forum, one that screams more “Ben and Jerry’s themed Buzzfeed page” rather than a homepage itself. However, looking into the content, Ben and Jerry’s is no stranger to serving up something cold and hard, and it’s not the Cherry Garcia.
Ben and Jerry’s has time and time again denounced the wrongful actions of those in power, and shed light on those who we are taking power away from. The Black Lives Matter movement has a prominent place on their page, being written in their renowned Ben and Jerry’s style text. They have spoken out for years on why such a movement is crucial for change in our society, and as of recently, have even gone as far to issue calls of action towards higher members of society (cough, cough), because humanity should still believe in the good of others. Their voice speaks on behalf of the people, and it is as loud as it is passionate.
For many, this would be enough, to hear a powerful household name claw at the roots of supremacist evil. But Ben and Jerry’s doesn’t even consider stopping there. They’ve also released a flavor named “Pecan Resist”, made with ties to 4 partners that support a variety of social causes, most prominently at the moment — Color of Change (also with both white and dark fudge).
It is sad that the death of George Floyd should be the cause of such a movement. It is heartbreaking that the deaths of many other black people went un-fought for in the name of “maintaining the norm”. But we look forward. Our country is unifying in a way we have never seen in many of our lifetimes. And as long as we remember their names, we find optimism in seeing what will come next. Institutional change shouldn’t have to be dairy free either.
