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[ stdin# ]Our Revolution Logo
James,
It’s Ben from Ben & Jerry’s – and I’m reaching out today to ask for your
help to #FreeBenandJerrys.
Jerry and I built our company nearly half a century ago to do more than
sell ice cream. Love, equity, justice, solidarity – these are the real
ingredients that shaped our lives and the mission of BNJ's. When Unilever
bought the company in 2000, we insisted on creating an independent board
specifically to safeguard Ben & Jerry’s product quality and social justice
mission from corporate interference.
That was the deal. And for years, our brand continued speaking out:
against white supremacy, for marriage equality, for climate justice, for
Palestinian human rights, and for the idea that businesses have
responsibilities far deeper than profit margins.
But now Unilever and its spinoff Magnum, have broken that promise,
silencing Ben & Jerry's from speaking out on Gaza, free speech and the
right to protest, Black History Month, and more. They’re stripping away
the voice of the company we built – so we’re fighting back. We’ve
assembled a group of social investors who support the mission and are
ready to become the new owners of BNJ’s. They’re willing to pay fair
market value, but Unilever/Magnum refuses to sell. So we’re launching the
campaign to #FreeBenandJerrys – to help Unilever/Magnum understand that by
muzzling BNJ’s they are destroying the brand and the deep values based
relationship that we have with our customers—and they’re not gonna stand
for it. We need to protect free expression, defend independent political
voices, and push back against corporate capitulation to authoritarian
pressure.
[ [link removed] ]We need this movement with us. Will you add your name to demand that
Unilever/Magnum transfers ownership to a group that actually supports all
that Ben & Jerry’s stands for?
[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME
Because of Unilever/Magnum’s work to muzzle Ben & Jerry’s whenever the
brand tries to stand up for justice, peace, and progressive values, Jerry
and I have determined that it’s not possible for BNJ’s to retain its
values under current ownership. That’s what prompted Jerry to make one of
the most painful decisions of his life and step down from the company this
fall.
But we are not done fighting. Our values cannot be bargained away to
appease a hostile administration or corporate executives who think silence
is safer than principle.
We’ve seen this pattern before: corporations cozying up to strongmen,
silencing dissent, policing political expression, and abandoning
commitments the moment they become inconvenient. When companies bow to
intimidation, democracy becomes smaller for all of us.
And let’s be honest – none of this is happening in a vacuum. Across the
country, we’re living through an all-out assault on civil rights, voting
rights, the rights of immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+ communities, and Black
and brown Americans. The louder the movement for justice grows, the harder
those in power work to shut it down.
That’s exactly why this moment matters. It’s easy to champion values when
nothing is at stake. The real test is whether we stand up when the
pressure is greatest.
Ben & Jerry’s is being silenced. But we don’t have to be.
[ [link removed] ]Join us. Add your name. Help us defend free expression and protect a
legacy of speaking truth to power.
[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME
–Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's
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