Ben & Jerry's and Vox Release First Episode Of Podcast About Racism

 The battle for racial justice has brought together two socially-conscious organizations that have collaborated to use podcasting as a tool to expose institutional racism in the United States.

On September 15, 2020, Ben & Jerry’s, Vox Media, and The Who We Are Project launched its podcast examining the lesser-known history of racial injustice. ”Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America” will show the hidden ways legal discrimination and state-sanctioned brutality continued long after slavery ended, profoundly limiting Black Americans’ ability to gain access to jobs, housing, education, and health care; or to create and accumulate wealth. 

The first podcast episode is called, "𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞.⁣⁣" The episode discusses how the U.S. was founded on the ideals of white supremacy. Given this legacy, how do Black parents decipher and explain American history to their children? In episode one, Carvell Wallace and Jeffery Robinson explore stories of the past, both personal and historical.⁣⁣

YOU CAN LISTEN HERE. 

 
The goal of “Who We Are” is to educate and encourage audiences to dismantle systemic racism. Ben & Jerry’s has been working on implicit bias, the school-to-prison pipeline, and criminal justice reform as part of its Justice ReMix’d campaign.

“Economic and social justice has been a part of Ben & Jerry’s mission since our founding 42 years ago,” said Jabari Paul, Ben & Jerry’s US Activism Manager. “We now sit at a critical inflection point in our nation’s history. If we are to seize the opening that this moment presents, we must be willing to acknowledge the sins of our past so that we move together toward a future of justice and equity.”

Photo by life Matters from Pexels

For the few who don't eat ice cream, Ben & Jerry's, a Vermont corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part Mission Statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry's became a certified B Corp in 2012. The Ben & Jerry's Foundation's employee-led grant programs totaled $3MM in 2019 to support grassroots organizing for social and environmental justice around the country.

In 2015 the company completed its transition to using entirely non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients by source as well as to fully source Fairtrade-certified ingredients wherever possible, which benefits farmers in developing countries. .

Each 30-minute episode of the podcast will focus on a different period in American history and its link to modern-day systemic racism. Each will end with a call-to-action. Listen to the trailer here.

The podcast is produced by Vox Creative, Vox Media’s award-winning brand studio, and is Vox Media Podcast Network's first original series produced in partnership with a brand. Vox Creative is Vox Media’s award-winning brand studio. Vox Creative’s team of strategists, writers, storytellers, and analysts create original content and experiences that connect brands with influential audiences across Vox Media’s editorial networks and beyond.