The logo s original inspiration was a minstrel show around. Much like the bandito losing his gold tooth the late 80s rebranding was a slow evolution from jemima s original form a crude depiction of the mammy stereotype. In her most recent iteration aunt jemima a smiling caricature of a black woman has been around since 1989.
Her name was derived from a minstrel performer s vaudeville song called old aunt jemima and the first ever model for the logo. According to jezebel she simply embodied the racial stereotype of a female servant for while families called a mammy who nurtured the household s white kids at the expense of time to devote to her own children. Aunt jemima never actually existed that we know of.
Aunt jemima is perhaps the oldest and most enduring example of a brand built on a black stereotype an outgrowth of old south plantation nostalgia and romance grounded in an idea about the. The company s website said the logo started in 1890 and was based on nancy green a storyteller. The brand s origin and logo is based off the song old aunt jemima from a minstrel show performer.
The sweet face of aunt jemima most likely floods you with happy memories of eating pancakes with friends after a sleepover or feasting on waffles on a sleepy sunday morning however few realize the logo is incredibly problematic and after far too long. For over 100 years aunt jemima has been widely recognized for its buttery maple syrup and of course its somewhat nostalgic logo. Quaker oats is retiring the more than 130 year old aunt jemima brand and logo acknowledging its origins are based on a racial stereotype.
On 17 june 2020 the owner of aunt jemima quaker a subsidiary. Butterworth s and namely aunt jemima said they would make changes to their logos packaging and even names following protests over systematic racism against them. Starting in mid to late june 2020 many brands with mixed race characters incorporated into their branding including uncle ben s eskimo pie cream of wheat mrs.
