Ben & Jerry’s Condemned The ‘Riot To Uphold White Supremacy’ At The U.S. Capitol This Week
Ben & Jerry's issued a statement condemning the violent acts at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., this week, saying that it was "not a protest—it was a riot to uphold white supremacy" and calling on President Donald Trump to resign.
In a series of tweets, the ice cream brand said the destruction and violence that stemmed from right-wing rioters storming the U.S. Capitol Building was "allowed to happen," noting, as many others have, the difference in the response by authorities during this insurrection versus during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Yesterday was not a protest—it was a riot to uphold white supremacy.
(1/8)— Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) January 7, 2021
"The mostly white insurrectionists roamed freely and without consequence through the heart of our democracy," they tweeted: "The only explanation is that this was allowed to happen because they were white—not Black, Brown or Indigenous people."
They continued by saying that Wednesday was evidence of "two Americas," also striking a contrast between the pro-Trump riot in the nation's capital that left five people dead as of this writing, and the projected results of the run-off election in Georgia, with Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff both becoming senator-elects. As Ben & Jerry's noted in their tweets, they are the first Black and first Jewish senators from the state of Georgia, respectively.
"Both of these Americas are us. Black and Brown people have long understood this. They’ve been exposed to the white tyranny that was on full display at yesterday’s riot since the founding of our nation. It’s the double standard that undergirds white supremacy in our nation," Ben & Jerry's tweeted.
They concluded their thread by calling on President Trump to resign, for Congress to impeach him, or for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment, saying "Resign, impeach, 25th Amendment...not one more day."
This is far from the first time Ben & Jerry's has spoken up about political and human rights issues, specifically issuing statements and writings about the Black Lives Matter movement, the school-to-prison pipeline, and even releasing a podcast about racial justice. In a recent press release about their collaboration with Colin Kaepernick, the company refered to itself as "an aspiring social justice company."
You can read their entire recent thread here or by clicking through this post on their Instagram page.
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