In a Fourth of July message, Ben & Jerry’s called on the United States to “commit to returning” stolen Indigenous land.
While the company sparked outrage on social media with the Independence Day Twitter post, the Vermont ice-cream maker is no stranger to criticism over its stances on divisive issues. Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s fended off calls for a boycott after co-founder Ben Cohen voiced his opposition to the US providing military aid to Ukraine. Scrutiny has continued to escalate over the company’s support of the LGBTQ+ community and the “Black Lives Matter” movement, among other polarizing issues.
The company defends its activism and states on its website that its social mission is to “eliminate injustice in our communities by integrating these concerns into our day-to-day business activities.”
Newsweek has reached out via email to Ben & Jerry’s representatives for comments.
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Ben & Jerry’s, founded in 1978 in Burlington, has been outspoken on numerous hot-button issues for decades. The ice-cream maker frequently weighs in on political and cultural issues on its social media platforms.
On Tuesday, the company marked the federal holiday celebrating the nation’s founding by calling on the US government to give back the “stolen Indigenous land” upon which the nation was formed, Ben & Jerry’s said in an online statement that the company shared on Twitter.
“This 4th of July, it’s high time we recognize that the US exists on stolen Indigenous land and commit to returning it,” Ben & Jerry’s tweeted Tuesday morning.
Ben & Jerry’s proposed that the US “start with Mount Rushmore.” In the statement, the company highlighted the history of the iconic South Dakota sight and its significance to Indigenous Americans.
“What is the meaning of Independence Day for those whose land this country stole, those who were murdered and forced with brutal violence against reservations, those who were pushed away from their holy places and denied their freedom,” the company said. 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.”
While the tweet received nearly 5,000 likes and thousands of retweets, it also ignited a heated debate on the platform where opponents pressed the company to lead the way by offering their own land to Indigenous Americans.
Several Twitter users called for Ben & Jerry’s to receive the “Bud Light” treatment, a dig at the embattled beer brand that has been facing fierce criticism and an ongoing boycott over its decision to partner with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April.
Country singer John Rich, who has been a vocal critic for Bud Light since the boycott of the beer maker began, respondents to Ben & Jerry’s Independence Day tweet with: Make “@benndjerrys Bud Light again.”
Make @benndjerrys Bud Light again.
— John Rich???????? (@johnrich) July 4, 2023
“Just when you think @benandjerrys couldn’t go any lower – they pull this stunt. Boycott Ben and Jerry’s,” Bryan E. Leib tweeted.
One Twitter user referred to Ben & Jerry’s as “the Bud Light of ice cream,” adding, “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,” AlexChecked tweeted in response to Ben & Jerry’s.
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
