In a controversial Independence Day Tweet, ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s posted, “The United States was founded on stolen indigenous land. This Fourth of July, let’s commit to returning it.”
On their website, the company stated that 4th of July festivities and celebrations “distract from an essential truth about this nation’s birth.”
In a further display of “patriotism” for the country that allowed their great success, they went on to target “Mount Rushmore.” “What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence onto reservations, those who were pushed from their holy places and denied their freedom.”
“The faces on Mount Rushmore are the faces of men who actively worked to destroy Indigenous cultures and ways of life, to deny Indigenous people their basic rights.”
Reviews were mixed on social media, with some calling for a Bud Light like ban on the ice cream company.
Country singer John Rich Tweeted, “Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again.”
Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again.
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) July 4, 2023
Another Tweeted:
Ben & Jerry’s are the Bud Light of ice cream 🤣
But seriously now, close shop, or better yet, donate your business and everything you own in these lands that rightfully belong to the indigenous people, apologize to them, and return to the continent your ancestors came from. Now! https://t.co/kvI0dqqMO4
— Alex ❎ (@AlexChecked) July 5, 2023
No strangers to controversy, Ben & Jerry’s also announced in 2021, that it was freezing the sale of ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territory” infuriating Israelis, including the former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben & Jerry’s has shown their support for Black Lives Matter as well as the LGBTQ+ community.
Ben & Jerry’s makes no apologies for their activism, leaning into it with their social mission posted on their website, which aims to “eliminate injustices in our communities by integrating these concerns into our day-to-day business activities.”
It remains to be seen if the Bud Light boycott will extend to Ben & Jerry’s.
