Critically-acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay continues to break new ground – this time as the first Black woman to be featured on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! Yum.
“Partnering with Ben & Jerry’s, a company that I’ve long admired for their commitment to social justice, has been a thrill ride,” she said in a statement, adding that “ice cream is a simple joy of life. A comfort food that I’ve turned to on many days – making sunny ones brighter and dark ones sweeter.”
The Selma director will have her picture printed on pints of the new flavor, which has been appropriately called Lights! Caramel! Action!
The frozen snack combines vanilla ice cream, notes of salted caramel, sprinkles of graham crackers and chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough.
“First of all, chocolate chip cookie dough. What more needs to be said?” DuVernay told PEOPLE.
She went on to explain that she is honored to be the first woman featured on the brand’s products, which had never featured a woman of color.
“I’m not taking it too seriously, but I do think that it’s important to walk through doors that have not been opened. And it’s not an accomplishment because someone has closed the door and then opened it. It is an action that needs to be taken,” she said.
She continued: “I’m glad that they’ve done it. And if I can support that, I’m happy to do it.”
Lights! Caramel! Action! will be available for purchase at the top of 2023. Proceeds from the sales will go to her non-profit, ARRAY Alliance, an initiative working to advance social justice through art and seeks to “look at creating equitable systems in the entertainment industry.”
“When I thought of [the name], of ‘action’ — that’s what we’re asking people to take. Whether it’s you’re deciding what you want to consume in the way of ice cream, how you feel when you walk out of a film and actually taking action,” DuVernay explained. “And not just letting it entertain you, but rising to the challenge of what the story might reveal about history, about people.”
