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.
The brand s origin and logo is based off the song old aunt jemima from a minstrel show performer and reportedly sung by slaves. Aunt jemima s appearance has evolved over time. Aunt jemima portrayer anna robinson bettmann bettmann archive other archetypes invented around the same time were the black dandy an arrogant ostentatious man who tried to appear dignified but wasn t and jim crow a stereotypical slave the jezebel was a sexually promiscuous woman there was also the uncle tom character the male version of the mammy character.
The name self rising pancake flour but rutt was inspired to change the name of the mix after he attended a minstrel show and saw men dressed in blackface. The origins of aunt jemima. It is currently owned by the quaker oats company of chicago a subsidiary of pepsico.
By 1915 it had become one of the most recognized brands in us history and changed us trademark law. The aunt jemima pancake mix debuted in 1889 the first ready mix. Aunt jemima is a brand of pancake mix syrup and other breakfast foods.
The name aunt jemima comes from a 1875 minstrel show song called old aunt jemima minstrel shows of course often featured white performers in blackface as racist caricatures and as activist actor and writer sarah doneghy wrote in a 2018 story entitled aunt jemima. Born of a racist minstrel show.
