Ben & Jerry’s Takes on Racism and Criminal Justice Reform with New Flavor: “Justice Remix’d”
WASHINGTON – Ben & Jerry’s believes everyone deserves the sweet taste of justice, regardless of race or wealth. The iconic ice cream company has partnered with Advancement Project National Office to launch Justice ReMix’d, a flavor created to spotlight structural racism in a broken criminal legal system. Those are big issues for a business to take on, but Ben & Jerry’s has been an advocate for social justice and equity for much of its 40 years.
“Our approach to creating social change is to raise up the work non-profits are doing on the ground,” said Co-Founder Ben Cohen. “We bring every resource we have to support them—our business voice, our connection with fans, our Scoop Shop community and of course, ice cream. Somehow, it’s easier to talk about difficult issues over a scoop or two.”
Advancement Project National Office is a national, multi-racial civil rights organization that works with local grassroots organizers on racial justice issues.
“Our country needs to invest in services that build up communities rather than those that tear them down,” said Advancement Project National Office Executive Director Judith Browne Dianis. “That means ending a wealth-based pre-trial detention system that locks people up because they are poor, Black or Brown. It means dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, divesting from criminalizing students, and investing in the creation of high-quality education and services. It’s time to reimagine safety and justice.”
At the local level, Ben & Jerry’s worked with Advancement Project National Office’s grassroots partner Power U Center for Social Change in calling on the Miami-Dade County School Board to prioritize funding for mental health and counselors instead of more school police officers. It also worked with the #CloseTheWorkhouse campaign in St. Louis to work to shut down an inhumane jail and advocate against wealth-based pre-trial detention. In both cities, Ben & Jerry’s deployed its Scoop Truck to generate conversations, listen, and give away ice cream. It’s a tactic that has proven effective in growing social movements.
On Tuesday in southeast Washington, DC, Ben & Jerry’s will scoop the new flavor during an ice cream social at We Act Radio. They have also committed to supporting a future block party celebration in advance of a school board meeting where Advancement Project National Office and other advocates will ask policymakers to divest from school policing and invest in alternate resources for Miami-Dade students.
Described as cinnamon and chocolate ice cream with gobs of cinnamon bun dough and spicy fudge brownies, JusticeReMix’d is part of Ben & Jerry’s multi-year campaign for criminal justice reform. Justice seekers with a sweet tooth can find the audacious new flavor in grocery stores nationwide (MSRP $4.99). The Limited Edition flavor is also available in Scoop Shops. To find a store near you, visit Ben & Jerry’s website. To learn more about the company’s criminal justice reform campaign, visit the Justice ReMix’d page.
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Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras.
