Ethel harper a singer and actress wore the red and white gingham kerchief for three years in the mid 1950s playing aunt jemima at fairs festivals and charity fundraisers in a quaker oats. A great grandson of a woman who. After more than a century the aunt jemima logo and name will be retired.
Great grandson of aunt jemima actress angered by removal of character from products. This is an injustice for me and my family. She portrayed the character of aunt jemima from 1935 to 1954.
Is the name of the great grandson of anna short harrington. Now the great grandson of the aunt jemima actress is speaking out on how he is unhappy about the removal of the character from the products. The brand s design had already changed at least five times.
The first aunt jemima was introduced at chicago s world s fair in 1893 and was portrayed by nancy green a formerly enslaved woman. On wednesday chicago based quaker foods announced it would eliminate the aunt jemima brands in response to civil unrest in the wake of the death of george floyd an african american man who died may 25 when his neck was pinned by the knee. Larnell evans sr s great grandmother anna short harrington portrayed the aunt jemima character from 1935 to 1954 the syracuse post standard reported.
The popular aunt jemima pancake syrup didn t show up on supermarket shelves until 1966 followed later by. The aunt jemima brand began in 1889 as the world s first ready mix on the market. The great grandson of a woman who played the aunt jemima character for nearly 20 years said he was angry with quaker oats decision to change its logo and name on its pancake mix and syrup.
Therese gardella december 19 1894 january 3 1950 was an italian american performer on the stage and screen whose stage persona was aunt jemima she performed on both stage and screen usually in blackface tess was born in glen lyon pennsylvania to john and louisa gardella she came to new york city in 1918 singing in dances and nightclubs and also political rallies. Although depictions vary over time they are similar to the common attire and physical features of mammy characters throughout history. Her skin is dark and dewy with a pearly white smile.
Aunt jemima is based on the common enslaved mammy archetype a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant.
Aunt jemima actress. The revs on legacy of aunt jemima actress. Let s celebrate her for what she did and move on bottles of aunt jemima original syrup are displayed on a shelf in a walmart in pittsburgh sunday june 21 2020.
Let s celebrate her for what she did and move on bottles of aunt jemima original syrup are displayed on a shelf in a walmart in pittsburgh sunday june 21 2020. The revs on legacy of aunt jemima actress.
