Ben & Jerry’s Want Franchise Owners to Sell #BlackLivesMatter Swag at Stores
Michael Brown robbed a local Ferguson convenience store shortly before his death. Then Brown smashed police officer Darren Wilson in the face and wrestled the officer for his gun before he was shot dead.
On Monday November 24, 2014 Brown’s stepdad Louis Head incited a riot in Ferguson, Missouri after the announcement of no indictment against Officer Darren Wilson.
Head repeatedly told the protesters to, “Burn this b–ch down!”
At least 18 businesses were torched to the ground and several more were looted and vandalized after Mr. Head’s comments.
Officer Darren Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing in the case.
But that won’t stop Ben & Jerry’s co-founders from pressuring franchise owners to sell #BlackLivesMatter swag at their stores.
The Root reported:
Speaking at their annual franchisee meeting earlier this month in New Orleans, Cohen and Greenfield—who sold Ben & Jerry’s to Unilever Corp. in 2000 but who reportedly remain heavily involved in operations—have publicly declared themselves allies of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Specifically raising awareness about the movement’s “Hands up, don’t shoot” iteration, Cohen urged franchise owners to sell T-shirts benefiting the work of Hands Up United, a grassroots organization founded by St. Louis hip-hop artist and activist Tef Poe and activist Taureen “Tory” Russell.
“Some people might say, ‘Oh, we can’t do that,’” Cohen said to franchise owners. “‘We can’t sell those T-shirts in our shops; it’s controversial.’ But isn’t that exactly the point? If it weren’t controversial, we wouldn’t need to do it. At some point we have to ask ourselves: ‘What do we stand for? Whose side are you on?’”
