Aunt Jemima to be renamed over 'racial stereotype’
Food conglomerate Quaker Oats has perpetuated the mammy stereotype on a pancake box for more than 130 years. Quaker Oats is just now saying that this is the right time to scrap the Aunt Jemima name and image in order “to make progress toward racial equality.” The Aunt Jemima caricature dates back to the 1800s minstrel days.
Cream of Wheat, Mrs. Butterworth, and Uncle Ben are reportedly on the chopping block as well. Uncle Ben is said to be based off of a real life Black farmer and/or hotel employee who never had any involvement with the rice company. Uncle Ben portrays as a servant and uses a title (as Aunt Jemima) that reflects how white Southerners referred to Blacks, refusing to respectfully address them as Mr. and Mrs.
I'm not impressed. What I see or don't see on the outside of my pancake box cannot and will not deflect from the matter at hand- continuous police killings of Black people in this country! Now corporations care about "racial equality." When there is equal footing with Blacks and all other races concerning housing, employment, healthcare, education, politics, and so much more...that's what "racial equality" looks like. Don't insult my intelligence by saying you're rooting out racism out of a rice box! There are bigger fish to fry!
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