In 1893 after rutt sold the company the new owner hired nancy green. In 1889 chris rutt heard the song old aunt jemima at a minstrel show and decided to name his pancake flour after the song. Although quaker oats the parent company of aunt jemima has tried to stip away the racist connotations of the branding by lightening her skin giving her pearl earrings and a classy new hairstyle.
According to the jim crow museum of racist memorabilia the mammy image served as the political social and economic interests of mainstream white america. The mascot was inspired by a former slave named nancy green who was to look like a mammy caricature. The latest is quaker oats aunt jemima which traces its roots back to 1889.
The origins of the aunt jemima logo can be traced back to the song old aunt jemima which was performed in minstrel shows in the late 19th and early 20th centuries often featuring white performers in blackface. Even after the 131 year old company updated its logo in 1989 to remove the. Tipton martin says that the aunt jemima character is rooted in racism.
Syrup bottles from aunt jemima are in a. Yes the three retirees aunt jemima uncle ben and hopefully rastus owe their rest to corporate attempts to get in on a furious fad of social distancing from america s racist past. The company also ran racist ads for several decades.
Quaker oats is retiring the more than 130 year old aunt jemima brand and logo acknowledging its origins are based on a racial stereotype. Quaker oats is retiring the more than 130 year old aunt jemima brand and logo acknowledging its origins are based on a racial stereotype. The first stage is the shock stage and it is designed to get everyone s attention just like with dovegate another unintended ahem triggering of said strategy a few months back where a dove soap advert literally triggered blacklash via the age old formula of a black woman being turned white after using their product apparently the soap industry have a long history of this.
Via the gallery. Happifyin aunt jemima pancakes sho sets folks singin about racism. We dug through the archives for some classic aunt jemima ads from the 1940s and it s true what they say.
