Ben and Jerry's calls to 'defund the police' in a Juneteenth social media post building on its long campaign against racism

• Ben & Jerry's, the beloved Vermont-based ice cream company, called to defund the police in a social media post on Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
• The image shows ice cream being taken from a bowl labeled "US Police Budget" to bowls labeled "Affordable housing," "Job training," "Education," "Mental-health counseling," and "Substance-abuse treatment."
• The statement comes amid ongoing nationwide protests against racism and police brutality led by Black Lives Matter activists, who are calling to reallocate law enforcement funding to social services.
• The movement to defund or abolish the police remains controversial, and many moderate and progressive Democrats have shunned the demand.

Ben & Jerry's, the beloved Vermont-based ice cream company, called to defund the police in Instagram and Twitter posts on Friday, the Juneteenth holiday commemorating the end of slavery.

The post is a picture of a large bowl of ice cream — labeled "US Police Budget $115 Billion" — being redistributed to smaller bowls labeled "Affordable housing," "Job training," "Education," "Mental-health counseling," and "Substance-abuse treatment."

Defund the police, defend Black communities! This #Juneteenth, it's more important than ever that we dismantle the racist and ineffective model of American policing. Learn more about how defunding the police works and why we so desperately need it. Link in bio!

A post shared by Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) on Jun 19, 2020 at 6:59am PDTJun 19, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

The statement comes amid ongoing nationwide protests against racism and police brutality led by Black Lives Matter activists, who are calling to reallocate law enforcement funding to social services. The movement to defund or abolish the police is controversial and many moderate and progressive Democrats have shunned the demand.

Juneteenth, which has been celebrated since 1866, commemorates the day in 1865 when more than 250,000 enslaved Black Texans were informed by a Union general that they had been freed. This came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, freeing enslaved Black people in many states. Slavery was not fully abolished in the US until the passage of the 13th Amendment in December 1865.

Ben & Jerry's first publicly stated its support for the Black Lives Matter movement four years ago. Since then, the brand has regularly published articles about white supremacy and touched on other progressive topics, such as the importance of voting in local elections and the struggles during the pandemic for immigrant farmworkers not authorized to live in the US.

Ben & Jerry's was widely praised for its statement earlier this month condemning police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd's death.

"The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy," the ice cream brand said on its website.

"What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a bad apple; it was the predictable consequence of a racist and prejudiced system and culture that has treated Black bodies as the enemy from the beginning," Ben & Jerry's added. "What happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis is the fruit borne of toxic seeds planted on the shores of our country in Jamestown in 1619, when the first enslaved men and women arrived on this continent."

—Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) June 2, 2020

Ben & Jerry's response was far longer than the short posts made by many brands and it was widely shared on social media.

Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module