Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Social

On October 6th, Ben and Jerry's publicly endorsed Black Lives Matter via Twitter stating "Black Lives Matter. Choosing to be silent in the face of such injustice is not an option."

 While Ben and Jerry's received public praise in the form of tens of thousands of "likes" and "retweets", within hours they also received lots of criticism and hate filled messages. Groups such as "Blue Lives Matter" (who consist of police officers that are strongly against Black Lives Matter) predictably issued their countering public statement demanding American's boycott the company. Let's just say, that did not sit well with me. 

Initially, I thought "I'm going to get a scoop of ice cream there TODAY!" That quickly changed to, "I'm going AND bringing all of my friends with me! We're all going to support B&J's ice cream!" But as I began to plan my casual friendly outing, I just knew I could do more. I began to brainstorm on how I could show my support on a larger scale. Throwing an ice cream social not only made me nostalgic of elementary school, but sounded like so much fun! On October 7th, I introduced my idea to Ikechi Nwabusi, founder and CEO of AlibiX, a social organization that creates a digital community of millennial professionals. He thought the idea was great and on Monday October 10th we officially decided to partner together. That Wednesday, the flyer launched on social media, and by Saturday, the social was in full effect. Over 75 people were in attendance with guests including Houston Police Officer's, Federal Judge Vanessa Gilmore, medical doctor and activist Dr. Cedrick Smith, and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (AKA) Inc. 

My dream in hosting such an event was to create a domino effect and inspire others to host ice cream social's at Ben and Jerry's in their respective city and/or neighborhood.  

I was privileged to meet new people in Houston as well as connect with old friends in order to support Black Lives Matter and send an important message: when your business stands up for what's right, dollars will be rewarded, not taken away.