Ben and Jerry’s have been very vocal about the Black Lives Matter Movement and defunding the police and now they are joining forces with free-agent quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick with his own ice cream flavor, ‘Change the Whirled.’
According to Ben & Jerry’s, the flavor “celebrates Kaepernick’s courageous work to confront systematic oppression and to stop police violence against Black and Brown people.”
The tub has Kaepernick‘s head featuring his signature afro on it and the ice cream is vegan just like the athlete with a caramel non-dairy sunflower butter base with fudge chips, graham cracker swirls, and chocolate cookie swirls, Delish reports.
In a statement, the ice cream giant reiterates that the athlete turned activist “represents the very best of us, willing to use his power and platform in the pursuit of equity and justice rooted in a commitment to love and resistance.”
The new Change the Whirled flavor has come to stay and it will be stocked at Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shops in the US from next year for $4.99 to $5.99.
Kaepernick will donate his proceeds to his Know Your Rights Camp founded in 2016 which seeks to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.”
Of their collaboration, he said he is honored to partner with Ben & Jerry’s because of their commitment to being a voice of change for the Black community that challenges systemic racism.
“Their commitment to challenging the anti-Black roots of policing in the United States demonstrates a material concern for the wellbeing of Black and Brown communities.
“My hope is that this partnership will amplify calls to defund and abolish the police and to invest in futures that can make us safer, healthier, and truly free,” he said.
The ice cream makers have been making flavors with a ‘cause’ since 2019. They released the Justice ReMix’d flavor with the goal of bringing attention to criminal justice reform and racial inequality in the US, according to the “spiring social justice company”.
Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy said in a statement that his company is proud to diversify its flavor portfolio by honoring Kaepernick with a full-time flavor.
“We deeply respect how Colin uses his voice to protest racism, white supremacy, and police violence through the belief that ‘love is at the root of our resistance.'”
Aside from voicing out their stance against social and racial injustices with ice cream flavors, the company launched a podcast in collaboration with Vox Media, “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America ” that delves deep into America’s long and twisted history with racism and white supremacy.
