Bad Taste: Ben & Jerry’s Woke-Flavored July 4th Post

On July 4th, as Americans across the country celebrated the 247th year as a nation, the justice warriors over at Ben & Jerry’s shared that America was founded on stolen land while suggesting we commit to returning it. While this is not a new claim by them or others, their timing and suggestion to return the land seem incongruous.

On their website, their article listed several points, including some of the following:

– Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills were originally known as Tunkasila Sakpe, a sacred site to the Lakota Sioux.

– The Black Hills were established as a “permanent home” for Indigenous tribes through treaties but were later taken away when gold was discovered.

– The tribes were relocated to smaller reservations, and Mount Rushmore was desecrated to honor white colonizers.

– In 1970, Indigenous activists occupied Mount Rushmore, demanding the return of the land.

None of their points, however, mentioned that indigenous tribes conquered each other. This was noted several times in response on Twitter, including suggestions the company returns their land to the tribes of Vermont, where Ben & Jerry’s business began in the 1970s.

Suggestions included a new flavor:

Someone else corrected the meme asking for a different commitment: 

Others suggested a boycott, with some wondering if this would have a “Bud Light” effect.

When scouring through the responses, a few pointed out that Ben & Jerry’s had been bought by a company called Unilever. Their website proudly declares their stance on capitalism and more.

But who is Unilever, and who are they owned by? These are questions that some also commented on, with one alleging it is not American owned. 

One thing was clear, Unilever’s website states they are “gender-balanced” at managerial levels and above.