This is not a drill: Ben & Jerry’s is launching a new flavor of vegan ice cream. The Vermont-based ice cream company has teamed up with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It will launch his very own flavor that supports social justice.
The new permanent flavor—called “Change the Whirled”—includes a caramel sunflower butter base with fudge chips, graham cracker swirls, and chocolate cookie swirls. The packaging features a picture of Kaepernick with a raised fist and the slogan “I know my rights.”
According to the company, the new flavor supports Kaepernick’s “courageous work to confront systemic oppression.”
“I’m honored to partner with Ben & Jerry’s on Change the Whirled,” Kaepernick said in a statement.
“Their commitment to challenging the anti-Black roots of policing in the United States demonstrates a material concern for the wellbeing of Black and Brown communities,” he continued. “My hope is that this partnership will amplify calls to defund and abolish the police and to invest in futures that can make us safer, healthier, and truly free.”
Ben & Jerry’s has previously spoken out against racial injustice. Four years ago, the company publicly voiced its support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier this year, following the murder of George Floyd, the company penned a moving statement. It outlined steps people could take to help dismantle white supremacy.
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Colin Kaepernick: Social Justice Activist
In 2016, vegan activist Kaepernick—who played for the San Francisco 49ers—garnered attention around the world for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
That same year, he founded the non-profit Know Your Rights Camp. The multi-city program advocates for civil rights through education, self-empowerment, and mass-mobilization.
The organization has held camps for children of color in a number of cities. These include Atlanta, Baltimore, Miami, New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, and Oakland. The non-profit even held a pop-up in Amsterdam in 2018.
It teaches a curriculum designed around ten main points: that Black and Brown people have the right to be free, healthy, brilliant, safe, loved, courageous, alive, trusted, educated, and to know their rights.
Kaepernick’s flavor will be available beginning in 2021. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Change the Whirled will support the work of his organization.
