Bernie Sanders has taken the Democratic primaries to rival candidate and heavy favorite Hillary Clinton, and now two celebrity nods could prove another vital step in the right direction for the Vermont senator.

The Bernie Sanders’ campaign just received two ringing endorsements from prominent scholar and civil rights activist Cornell West and the makers of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.

The makers of the popular ice cream business, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have thrown their support in favor of Bernie Sanders. Cohen and Greenfield started their business in Vermont and both are known for their liberal ideology.

“Ben and I have each given Bernie a thousand dollars and we have spent probably $500 each on purchasing ice cream that has been used as a donation to the campaign. We still have some capacity to purchase more ice cream as we get more money,” Jerry said.

One of Bernie Sanders’ main platforms of the 2016 presidential election is to get massive corporate money out of political campaigns, which is juxtaposed by his massive grassroots campaign.

Ben Cohen spoke out on the issue.

“Essentially what Citizens United has said is that a person who has a lot of money can stand up on a soap box, buy the biggest sound system in the world and drown out the voice of everybody else. For a business it is the best investment you can make. The return on investment is thousands of per cent. Politicians sell out pretty cheap.”

Civil rights activist Cornell West also gave a nod to Bernie Sanders, even though Hillary Clinton has enjoyed a stranglehold on the minority voters in the Democratic race.

Speaking to CNN’s Don Lemon, West endorsed Sanders as the best choice in the interest of minority voters. West and Sanders are self-proclaimed democratic socialists and have been advocates for civil rights issues for decades.

Who is the best candidate for minority voters? @CornelWest, @larryelder face off > http://t.co/K7Uq0BMyR0 — CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) August 14, 2015

Cornell West’s endorsement will be a welcomed one by Bernie Sanders, due to his failure to capture the minority votes. It is still early, and Sanders has been more vocal and transparent since his encounter with Black Lives Matter activists.

Can Bernie Sanders appeal to minorities within the Democratic party with his current campaign platforms?

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]