[…] National Telegraph […]
Written By Guest User, Posted on June 17, 2020
Yes, you read that correctly. Aunt Jemima, the maple syrup brand we all grew up on, is now racist.
The syrup and pancake mix brand become the latest victim of cancel culture, with Quaker Oats announcing today that the brand will receive a new name and image, due to the “racial stereotype” the brand is based on.
The brand, which has been around for 130 years, features a Black woman named Aunt Jemima, who was portrayed initially as a minstrel character.
The appearance of Aunt Jemima has evolved. It was initially based on the song “Old Aunt Jemima” from a minstrel show performer and reportedly sung by slaves. According to the company’s website, the logo started in 1890 and was based on Nancy Green, a “storyteller, cook and missionary worker.” She was also born a slave, although the company neglects to mentions that on their website.
“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,” Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a press release.
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“As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations.”
Kroepfl said the company has worked to “update” the brand to be “appropriate and respectful,” but it realized the changes were insufficient.
Following the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis, the brand had faced increased scrutiny. However, for years now, Quaker has been under pressure to get rid of the brand, as evidenced by this 2015 New York Times article by Riché Richardson entitled “Can We Please, Finally, Get Rid of ‘Aunt Jemima’?”
Interestingly enough, the company Quaker Oats was explicitly named after the religious group known as the Quakers because the owners wanted to reflect the Quaker values of “honesty, integrity, and purity.” The Quakers were at the forefront of the Abolitionist movement throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Writing in 2015, Richardson says, “This Aunt Jemima logo was an outgrowth of Old South plantation nostalgia and romance grounded in an idea about the “mammy,” a devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her white master and mistress while neglecting her own. Visually, the plantation myth portrayed her as an asexual, plump black woman wearing a headscarf.”
What do you think? Should Aunt Jemima have been cancelled? Comment below!
[…] National Telegraph […]
A well written report. Thanks for your effort. It raises awareness.
[…] National Telegraph […]
July 22, 2024
July 8, 2024
Absolutely not. It’s iconic. And how is it racist? Just because the icon is a black woman! The Gerber baby is a white baby. KFC is a southern gentleman, Wendy’s is a red headed (Irish?) girl. When will the world stop finding everything offensive. This is heart breaking.
I will no longer be buying any of Quakers products. Their narrow-mindedness has made me choose otherwise. They can shove their pancake mix and syrup where the sun don’t shine.
This is beyond ridiculous! There will be no end to this foolishness until we have no history! Get a thicker skin people, there’s a lot more going on here than what meets the eye!
Stupidly masquerading as wisdom. Gives a false sense that we are doing something to end racism which really is like swallowing a camel and choking in the gnat!
No!!!! Leave it alone.
Gosh all these snow flakes need to go away. Our bowel movements are also brown are we gonna soon have to find away to change the color of that?. The people who is making things all about race is the racest people around. Our skin is only a color under that color we all look the same.
Maybe you all should read up on this more. It’s definitely racist. There’s way more than this article says.
Seriously.. are they going to look at every single product that is sold and also pull them from the market if they have a tainted history? I don’t usually buy items and look up where the name comes from.. this is getting rediculious. They need to distinguish between glorifying and defining history. The Plantations in the USA were well known to have black slaves.. now take this opportunity to teach the public how wrong that was.. put a little story on each bottle of slave families/individuals and have a percentage of the profits go towards supporting black history month or a support group for people who lived through that. Getting rid of the bottle won’t erase history or the racism that is alive and well still today. Think of all the children and people sitting around their breakfast table and reading a story about Henry Box Brown or Harriet Tubman. Power in knowledge, don’t take it away.. educate the people
This is the most ridiculous crap. Grow up people and find a better fight. I feel like there are to many grown up children with nothing better to do.
I don’t care if they change name’s as long as they still sell it. And besides that I grew up looking at Aunt Jemima as warm and loving.
A small but important step, the syrup will taste the same without denigrating or stereotyping a race.
Grow a fucking pair. We dont buy it because it is racist. But we wont buy it now because you have no backbone
This is total crap. The elitists on this band wagon are the worst racists of all. Try and whitewash history encourages history to repeat itself. Years ago white sales were done away with because it was considered racist, yet black Friday is allowed
You people( don cherry quote) need to pull your heads out of your asses . You would have never survived the 80s
don cherry is a racist cunt
There is nothing racist about it. Thry have gone too far and onsist everything is racist. U can’t win. I have known white women with the name Jamima. I have also known white women dressed very similarly like her while doing house chores including myself and I am white. The only thing that can be racist is they’re using a black woman.
If they use a white woman then the blacks will say they used a white woman because they’re prejudice. White people can’t win and the black people will never be satisfied.
Yes I agree it needs be changed..it promotes and is systematic of families to think that mammies still exist for them to be subservient. Take away stigma. Class no longer exists..except in their minds
I am Irish, everyone should read Irish history. How we where enslaved in the United States and miss treated, it’s quite horrific and can easily be looked up to fact check.
So I say” Lucky Charms has got to go!! That racist Leprechaun image!!😂😂🤣
I never look at her other than a great cook and I love her flapjacks and syrup. People that are removing everything from history are only doinging it because they have small minds stuck in the past. Yes nothing is ever perfect but every race has gone through something along this. Native Americans Irish who choose to become Americans along with every other persons come from a different country. Doesn’t make it right but destroying innocent peoples homes business and life’s is okay? Make the change you sent to live come up with something positive. Everyone in Washington names Trump but he has not been there as long asost of them what site you not csllinv out to them what have you fine in the last 40 years or your party in the last 60 years. They have all failed but I don’t see you asking them. Now pelosi will knell and pray SNF wear s scarf did that hello anyone? Where was she when her father backed all of this? Wear was Bidden when he was writing and passing laws that him Black Americans look at history the Truth!
Pretty soon we’re going to cancel the words and colours brown and black from the English language. What’s next?
She obviously should be changed, it shouldnt survive if its rooted in slavery and racism, a rebrand is surprisingly easy to do for something well established, ALSO I just want to point out that its NOT maple syrup. Its butter syrup! It bothered me
Absolutely!! Ridiculous!!
Please God help my children! I can’t believe this is actually what the world is coming to. It’s fucking syrup guys. Yes the name has to do with something about slavery but that’s a part of history. Not what we represent today. So uncle Ben’s Aunt Jemmima, Quaker are going to rebrand. Like wtf people start using your time more wisley. I’m deeply sadden by all this. I’m actually wondering how the future generation is going to be. Everything is racist, no such thing as gender, holidays offending foreign religions, the list goes on. It’s sickening.
OMG! What next! I love her logo on the bottle, and never thought of it to be racist! If we start putting "white" grandma’s on all containers then we would be racist because blacks would never be included in such fine tasting foods. Black lives matter in the past too. She was portrayed to be a good cook with great ideas. I’m so sick of this racism shit.
Well if BLM is asking for them, that is pretty stupid. They want equality and want black faces erased from history. How do they not realize it is a loss for them. If I wanted more racial equality, I’d want MORE hispanic logoa, not less.🤷♀️
What an absolute knee jerk of a reaction. I’m all for equality, but when protesters in their vast minority have this much power? It’s a scary thing.
I petition to call it Aunt Agnes, as in the typical Irish person. We aren’t easily offended so would enjoy the branding.
This is completely nuts. slavery at least in Canada and the US Slavery is long gone. No one living today was ever a slave and no one living today ever owned a slave. We have people of all colours in every type of work. in Parliament, Mayors of cities, Doctors, Lawyers, Business owners and on and on. It seems those who want to become someone of importance do so regardless of colour. We can’t change the past but the future looks pretty open to everyone. If a syrup is racism then are the products showing white people not also racism? Why is it ok to put white faces on products but not any other colour? Are we discriminating against other by doing this after all white are getting more publicity are we holding back minority. Get real it is a syrup. History is past and can’t be changed but it looks to me like other minority are able to progress to whatever level they want but they have to want not demand. By the way the only whites that reach higher levels are those who want and are willing to work to achieve so looks like a pretty even playing field.
you’re disgusting
This is absolutely ridiculous and not a majority opinion by far. How is it that these historical decisions are based on a minority opinion????
No!
I will stop buying the best, Aunt Jemima.
No Aunt Jemima shouldnt of been canceled. This world has turned into a bunch of fucking pussies that takes everything to heart. I am personally starting to hate this fucked up world we live in. Everyone needs to give their fucking heads a good fucking shake and realize the world isn’t so fucking black and white… oh I’m sorry I guess I was being racist there for saying "black". This is bullshit
Aunt Jemima is a legend…. Known for her pancake syrup. Period. Let her stay on the bottle. Taking her off would be a disservice to her. She has the best pancake syrup going.
quaker oats just shot themselves in the foot. i hope this works out like all cancel culture and they end up going bankrupt over this.
What the heck. Next thing we know. There gonna go after rice Kristin’s saying the they are incestuous or gay sailors and go after lucky charms for being an Irish imagination that loves rainbows and unicorns. But not being gay rights supporting
Ridiculous !!!! She was the face of delicious pancakes and syrup. She was a great lady so you are dishonouring her legacy No longer will I be using your products.
So has Uncle Ben’s also been cancelled as well? I call bullsh*t. Leave at Jemima alone!
I don’t think so, I always thought it should be looked at as a positive message. Showing perseverance. You can’t keep a good woman down ,regardless of historical background. We need to stop over analyzing the past. How you suppose to move forward if you keep going back!
No, Aunt Jemima was everyone’s Aunt. She was there with all of us. This is like losing a family member.
Welcome to 2020. The year of the victimhood and false virtue. I’ve been banned off facebook and most other media because of my view toward this. You can not be neutral on the fence. Its either yes or no. If you disagree, you are shouted and mauled down. If you agree, you are shouted and mauled down. If you are truthful, you are despised. If you stand up for Canada you are bloodied. Welcome the the Big Lie perpetrated by the ilk of Trudeau and others. The Big Snow Job to cover his bullshit. And its extends worldwide through the W.H.O. and the U.N.
Nothing but a frigging big coverup of the real menace. Covid and the W.H.O. The second wave has begun and people largely don’t care.
Racism is a product of the rich man. Built by the rich and fed by the rich. But we all pay for it. It is a by-product of elitism, colonialism, an ideal brought about by the," I’m better than you cowd." You know, that crowd that encapsulates money as a god?
Trumps, Trudeau’s..that ilk have made a mockery of North America as a whole. Canada has lost respect and pride through Trudeau and his cabel of nutbars and how they have divided Canada. They are the biggest hypocrites and racists.
The victimization of Aunt Jemima products and such is just the very tip of the rot in mankind.
No but thay are making a nip mistake as I will never purchase this product again as for what thay have made it out to be it is fucken stupid and it is the black them self’s that are fucken nuts
No I do not this is history of a woman through all adversity did a postive thing . She should be honored all people should be proud of her accomplishment.
Yes. ✊🏽 I’m happy to see it. And it won’t stop here. Tear down these monuments one by one. Every statue every celebratory relec and trope of the past and teach the children of the future more tolerance and compassion for ppl other than themselves. I’m sure a lot of the past generation needs to die off too before stuff really really starts changing.