The cofounders of Ben & Jerry's say the police abuse of Black people is a 'white problem'

• Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the cofounders of ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry's, have spoken up against police brutality.
• Cohen and Greenfield penned an op-ed for USA Today calling the police abuse of Black people "a white problem."

The cofounders of ice cream company Ben & Jerry's have spoken up against police brutality, calling the abuse of Black people by cops "a white problem."

"When police abuse Black people, it's not a Black problem. It's a white problem. While Black people bear the brunt of police brutality, it's white people who allow this racism to continue," Cohen and Greenfield wrote in a USA Today op-ed on November 9.

"Ours is a majority white society. White people elect the officials who appoint police chiefs," the two wrote, citing statistics to make the point that police chiefs are "overwhelmingly white."

"The people we pay to protect and serve are killing and brutalizing Black people before our very eyes. And we're letting them get away with it," they added.

"As uncomfortable as it makes us feel, our inaction feeds and perpetuates injustice. Some of us claim to be neutral, but the reality is that neutrality preserves the status quo," Cohen and Greenfield wrote. "If we choose to use it, we white people have the power to hold rogue cops accountable and create a society where Black mothers can also teach their children that the policeman is their friend."

Ben & Jerry's has made it part of its mission to combat systemic structural racism, per the company's website. The company and its leaders have a track record of taking strong stances against racism and linking their business with social issues.

Last June, Ben & Jerry's released a statement calling the murder of George Floyd the "result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy." And last September, the company announced it was launching a podcast about white supremacy to examine how legal discrimination along racial lines has been perpetuated in the US.

Ben & Jerry's has engaged in various progressive causes by publishing articles on topics including white supremacy, the importance of getting the vote out in local elections, and the difficulties that immigrant farm workers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company is also known for taking stances with its ice ream flavor names. It has released ice cream flavors like Justice ReMix'd to advocate for criminal-justice reform, and the anti-Trump flavor, Pecan Resist.