# Aunt Jemima Brand To Change Name, Remove Image, Quaker Oats Announces



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 17, 2020)

*Aunt Jemima brand to change name, remove image, Quaker Oats announces*
NEWS


by: Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Jun 17, 2020 / 06:59 AM CDT / Updated: Jun 17, 2020 / 07:24 AM CDT





Credit: WCMH


(WCMH) — Quaker Oats announced Wednesday it will remove the name and image of the Aunt Jemima brand of syrup and pancake mix.

The move is part of an effort by the company to “make progress toward racial equality,” the company said in a statement first obtained by NBC News.

The company said in its statement that it recognizes that “Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.”

The brand, which spans over 120 years, features a black woman named after a character from 19th-century minstrel shows. The company’s history timeline says Aunt Jemima was first “brought to life” by Nancy Green, who was born a slave in 1834 in Kentucky. She became the face of the product in 1890. 

While Green was portrayed as a “Mammy,” Aunt Jemima has since evolved, replacing her red bandanna with pearls and curls in 1989.

“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. “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.”

Quaker said the new packaging is due out in the fall of 2020, and a new name will be announced at a later date, NBC News reported.


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## vevster (Jun 17, 2020)

Good!  I wonder what the new name will be?


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## CarefreeinChicago (Jun 17, 2020)

Now take out all take out all the unhealthy sugars and preservatives


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## discodumpling (Jun 17, 2020)

Small victories yall!! We will take all of em...Uncle Ben got next!


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## vevster (Jun 17, 2020)

The process would make a cool marketing white paper -- rebranding to eliminate racist themes but enabling the user to find the product.


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## Crackers Phinn (Jun 17, 2020)

CarefreeinChicago said:


> Now take out all take out all the unhealthy sugars and preservatives


People who can't or refuse to make pancakes from scratch need those unhealthy sugars and preservatives.


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## Kanky (Jun 17, 2020)

These companies need to hire, promote and pay black people. I don't care about Aunt Jemima on the box. Can real life aunties pay their bills? If there were enough black people in positions of power Aunt Jemima would've been gone years ago.


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## Everything Zen (Jun 17, 2020)

I’m sorry but you know white people have co-opted a movement when  syrup gets cancelled.


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## Reinventing21 (Jun 17, 2020)

The logo absolutely  should go. To make the impact even more powerful, they could male a sizeable donation to the cause like Netflix did.


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## yamilee21 (Jun 18, 2020)

A while ago, there was a “debate” on Facebook about whether Mrs. Butterworth was supposed to be black or not... I just saw an article stating that she was meant to be “grandmotherly” but her *shape* does evoke the mammy stereotype... looks like she might disappear too for being potentially problematic. Has there been any mention of the Cream of Wheat man, the black chef, in all of this? The competition, Farina, features a little white boy... I always wondered how that influenced shoppers, a black guy I knew boycotted Cream of Wheat. How many other images are finally going to go? 

On a related note, my mom grew up in a black country, and her father was so well known as “Uncle Ben” that his own kids referred to him that way. (“Uncle” is a general courtesy title indicating respect.) So when she came to the US, and saw Uncle Ben’s rice in the stores, the image and name reminded her of her dad, and she started buying that brand. But she almost never bought Aunt Jemima’s products, because that image was more recognizably based in racism to her.


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## Theresamonet (Jun 18, 2020)

Am I the only one who wants it to stay?  They’ve already given her a makeover, that’s good enough.


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## nyeredzi (Jun 18, 2020)

Theresamonet said:


> Am I the only one who wants it to stay?  They’ve already given her a makeover, that’s good enough.


I don't find the current image offensive. So in one sense I really don't care about this. On the other hand, the name has so much baggage attached to it, and both the current image and name are still so tied to the old image, might be better to just let it all go.


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## UmSumayyah (Jun 18, 2020)

As a kid I always thought Mrs. Butterworth was an old white lady.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 18, 2020)

UmSumayyah said:


> As a kid I always thought Mrs. Butterworth was an old white lady.


Is she not??


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## SoniT (Jun 18, 2020)

I thought Mrs. Butterworth was white too. I guess not.


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## UmSumayyah (Jun 18, 2020)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Is she not??


I think she is and was always meant to be.  Sometimes people see things that aren't there. Unless someone can bring up commercials and ads older than the late seventies that portray a mammy stereotype, ghe evidence just isn't there.


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## OhTall1 (Jun 18, 2020)

yamilee21 said:


> A while ago, there was a “debate” on Facebook about whether Mrs. Butterworth was supposed to be black or not... I just saw an article stating that she was meant to be “grandmotherly” but her *shape* does evoke the mammy stereotype... looks like she might disappear too for being potentially problematic.


We had a thread about Mrs. Butterworth when KFC did their chicken and waffle commercials.

https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/kfc-and-ms-butterworth-tried-it.842983/


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## Everything Zen (Jun 18, 2020)

I’m irritated that this became a thing because I had to smack down some faux woke whites on SM about this who were out here trying to “educate” people on the history of Nancy Green and how the “BLM hero” was being erased.

I told them First of all do you really care about this “hero” and y’all do know you can still buy the syrup- it just won’t have a fat black woman’s face on it and Second if you had any black friends in real life and one basic google search would give historical context to this. I told them to shut up before speaking about stuff they obviously don’t know about.

They came back sniveling and groveling with a quickness.


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## SoniT (Jun 18, 2020)

Everything Zen said:


> I’m irritated that this became a thing because I had to smack down some faux woke whites on SM about this who were out here trying to “educate” people on the history of Nancy Green and how the “BLM hero” was being erased.
> 
> I told them First of all do you really care about this “hero” and y’all do know you can still buy the syrup- it just won’t have a fat black woman’s face on it and Second if you had any black friends in real life and one basic google search would give historical context to this. I told them to shut up before speaking about stuff they obviously don’t know about.
> 
> They can back sniveling and groveling with a quickness.


I just saw those types of comments in response to an article posted about this. They don't care about Nancy Green. They got a lot of nerve telling Black people how we should feel.


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## Reinventing21 (Jun 18, 2020)

Maybe they can put a pretty an modern dipiction of Nancy Green and name it Sweet Nancy Syrup or something...alog with her full name in the logo.


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## awhyley (Jun 18, 2020)

vevster said:


> Good!  I wonder what the new name will be?


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## Reinventing21 (Jun 18, 2020)

awhyley said:


> View attachment 460413


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## TrulyBlessed (Jun 18, 2020)

discodumpling said:


> Small victories yall!! We will take all of em...Uncle Ben got next!



Nailed it


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## [email protected]@ (Jun 19, 2020)

Theresamonet said:


> Am I the only one who wants it to stay?  They’ve already given her a makeover, that’s good enough.



I felt this way,  but then I considered this woman's family and realized it may still be hurtful. _Especially_ if they are not profitting from it!


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## TrulyBlessed (Jun 22, 2020)




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## Theresamonet (Jun 23, 2020)

TrulyBlessed said:


>



I feel them. A lot of things, though they may be rooted in racism, are still a part of our history/culture. I don’t think everything should just be erased.


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## Shimmie (Jun 23, 2020)

TrulyBlessed said:


>


The family should be honored in this   it’s not about public overkill.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 24, 2020)

I don’t mind the black woman with Pearls and a rollerset being the face of the company, but they need to change the name for sure. Maybe start a new marketing campaign with a new name and revamped image. Hey, maybe name the new mascot after the original woman ( her real name), if people really want to consider her legacy.

Companies and images change over time based on the populations needs and wants.


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## chocolat79 (Jun 25, 2020)

I'm glad they're changing it. It's rooted in racial stereotypes, no matter what "current" depiction they have on the bottle now. They could change it to jazzy Auntie and it'd still be the same for me. But it doesn't matter to me now because I'll be patronizing a couple of Black-owned pancake/syrup companies, so they won't be getting my Black dollar.

Here's a couple that I've found, if anyone is interested (also healthier).

https://blanketps.com/

https://www.michelefoods.com/our-products/


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## Brwnbeauti (Jun 25, 2020)

TrulyBlessed said:


>


Wonder if they are being paid for the use of her image.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 25, 2020)

Brwnbeauti said:


> Wonder if they are being paid for the use of her image.


I don’t know because a few years back some of the great grandsons of one of the Aunt Jemimas sued Because apparently there was some kind of deal in place that was never honored.

https://www.adweek.com/digital/aunt-jemima-gets-sued-for-2-billion-by-ancestors-of-the-real-mammy/


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## Scasey (Jul 18, 2020)

BLACK-OWNED SYRUP COMPANY TAKES OFF AFTER AUNT JEMIMA PRODUCTS REMOVED FROM SHELVES

by Dana GivensJuly 13, 202060171



In wake of the nationwide protests to end racial injustice, consumers have been taking major corporations to task and pressuring them to speak out against systemic racism. Recently, Quaker Oats’s Aunt Jemima brand announced it will be rebranding after calls to remove the image of Aunt Jemima, who is tied to racist stereotypes and an actual enslaved black woman, from its packaging. The outrage has also helped to boost the sales of a black-owned syrup company in Chicago.



Michele Hoskins is the owner of Michele’s Foods, which specializes in breakfast condiments and food. It. The family recipe for her signature syrup was passed from her great-grandmother and was given to her when she got married so she could share it with her family. “She was a slave who worked as a cook on a plantation,” Hoskins said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “The family she worked for did not like molasses. So she came up with this concoction of honey, churned butter, and cream. It was delicious.”

She took her passion for breakfast food to start her company and has been selling her branded syrup in addition to other products for 30 years across 8,000 stores across the country. Once the controversy around Aunt Jemima products started to pick up steam, Hoskins was suddenly overwhelmed with a spike in orders from consumers wanting to switch to a Black-owned brand.


“I was shocked,” Hoskins explained. “It just changed my company, it changed my life. It made the 35 years worth the perseverance. I was just going to sit here and to hope that I can grow this brand enough where the legacy means something.”


While her syrup has now become a viral sensation due to calls to move away from purchasing the classic name brand, Hoskins still wants to stay true to her own brand. “I’m not going to take Aunt Jemima’s place. No one ever can, because she’s a different brand from a different era,” she said. “But if you’re looking for a minority company that sells in that category, I’m that. I think we should have the same opportunity as everyone else because we persevered.”


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## weaveadiva (Feb 9, 2021)




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## TrulyBlessed (Feb 10, 2021)




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## TrulyBlessed (Aug 14, 2021)




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## Theresamonet (Sep 22, 2021)

“Because who is Pearl?”


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## vevster (Sep 22, 2021)

Disappointed to see corn syrup as the first ingredient in the Michelle’s product. Oh well.


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## sissimpson (Feb 25, 2022)

awhyley said:


> View attachment 460413


mmmmmph


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## larry3344 (Feb 25, 2022)

Crackers Phinn said:


> People who can't or refuse to make pancakes from scratch need those unhealthy sugars and preservatives.


I prefer maple syrup always hated that crap.


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