Aunt Jemima
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Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for
pancake mix A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...
, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and was advertised as the first ready-mix cooking product. In June 2021, the Aunt Jemima brand name was discontinued by its current owner, PepsiCo, with all products rebranded to Pearl Milling Company, the name of the company that produced the original pancake mix product. Nancy Green portrayed the Aunt Jemima character at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
in Chicago, one of the first Black corporate models in the United States. Subsequent advertising agencies hired dozens of actors to perform the role as the first organized sales promotion campaign. Aunt Jemima is modeled after, and has been a famous example of, the "Mammy" archetype in the Southern United States. Due to the "Mammy" stereotype's historical ties in
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
,
Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. Sc ...
announced in June 2020 that the Aunt Jemima brand would be discontinued "to make progress toward racial equality", leading to the Aunt Jemima image being removed by the fourth quarter of 2020, and discontinuation of the name by June 2021.


History

In 1888, '' St. Joseph Gazette'' editor Chris L. Rutt and his friend Charles G. Underwood bought a small
flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
at 214 North 2nd St. in
St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...
. Facing a glutted flour market, Rutt and Underwood's "Pearl Milling Company" produced flour, cornmeal, and in 1889—following some experimination—they began selling their excess flour as a pancake mix in paper bags with the generic label "Self-Rising Pancake Flour" (later dubbed "the first ready-mix"). To distinguish their pancake mix, in fall 1889 Rutt appropriated the Aunt Jemima name and image from lithographed posters seen at a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
house in St. Joseph, Missouri. The original 1889 Formula for Aunt Jemima mix was: * Hard
Winter Wheat Winter wheat (usually '' Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. Classificatio ...
*
Corn Flour Cornflour may refer to: * Cornflour (in the UK), corn starch, from the endosperm of the kernel of the corn (maize) grain * Corn flour (in the US and elsewhere), very finely ground cornmeal, ground from dried maize See also * Flour * Starch ...
* B.W.T.
Phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
s from Provident Chem calSt L uis* Bicarb nateSoda * Salt. However, Rutt and Underwood could not raise enough capital and quickly ran out of money. They sold their company to the Randolph Truett Davis Milling Company (also in St. Joseph, Missouri) in 1890, then the largest flouring mill on the Missouri River, having an established reputation with wholesale and retail grocers throughout the
Missouri River Valley The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...
. According to the 2007 brand owner, the
Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. Sc ...
(part of PepsiCo), R. T. Davis also purchased a company called the Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Company in 1890. R. T. Davis improved the flavor and texture of the product by adding
rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
and corn sugar, and simplified the ready-mix by adding
powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...
. Only water was then needed to prepare the batter. The brand became successful enough that the Davis Milling Company was renamed Aunt Jemima Mills in February 1914. In 1915, the well-known Aunt Jemima brand was the basis for a trademark law ruling that set a new precedent. Previously,
United States trademark law A trademark is a word, phrase, or logo that identifies the source of goods or services. Trademark law protects a business' commercial identity or brand by discouraging other businesses from adopting a name or logo that is "confusingly similar" to ...
had protected against infringement by other sellers of the same product, but under the "Aunt Jemima Doctrine", the seller of pancake mix was also protected against infringement by an unrelated seller of a different but related product—pancake syrup. The Quaker Oats Company purchased the Aunt Jemima Mills Company in 1926, and formally registered the Aunt Jemima trademark in April 1937. It became one of the longest continually running logos and trademarks in the history of American advertising. Quaker Oats introduced Aunt Jemima syrup in 1966. This was followed by Aunt Jemima Butter Lite syrup in 1985 and Butter Rich syrup in 1991. Quaker Oats was purchased by PepsiCo in 2001. Aunt Jemima branded
frozen foods Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved grains and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows decompositi ...
were licensed out to Aurora Foods in 1996, which was absorbed into
Pinnacle Foods Pinnacle Foods, Inc., is a packaged foods company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, that specializes in shelf-stable and frozen foods. The company became a subsidiary of Conagra Brands on October 26, 2018. History The company was fou ...
in 2004. This entire frozen food product lineup was permanently discontinued by Pinnacle Foods in 2017 following a
product recall A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action. The recall is an effort to limit rui ...
.


Branding and advertising

The earliest advertising was based upon a vaudeville parody, and remained a caricature for many years. Quaker Oats commissioned
Haddon Sundblom Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (June 22, 1899 – March 10, 1976) was an American artist of Swedish and Finnish descent and best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company. Sundblom's friend Lou Prentice was t ...
, a nationally known commercial artist, to paint a portrait of an obese actress named Anna Robinson, and the Aunt Jemima package was redesigned around the new likeness. James J. Jaffee, a freelance artist from the Bronx, New York, also designed one of the images of Aunt Jemima used by Quaker Oats to market the product into the mid-20th century. Just as the formula for the mix changed several times over the years, so did the Aunt Jemima image. In 1968, the face of Aunt Jemima became a composited creation. She was slimmed down from her previous appearance, depicting a more "svelte" look, wearing a white collar, and geometric print "headband" still resembling her previous kerchief. In 1989, marking the 100th anniversary of the brand, her image was again updated, with all head-covering removed, revealing wavy, gray-streaked hair, gold-trimmed pearl earrings, and replacing her plain white collar with lace. At the time, the revised image was described as a move towards a more "sophisticated" depiction, with Quaker marketing the change as giving her "a more contemporary look" which remained on the products until early 2021.


Rebranding of 2020–2021

On June 17, 2020, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand would be discontinued and replaced with a new name and image "to make progress toward racial equality". The image was removed from packaging in fall 2020, while the name change was said to be planned for a later date. Within one day of the June 2020 announcement, other similarly motivated rebrandings and reviews of brand marketing were also announced, including for
Uncle Ben's Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Texas ...
rice (which was renamed to
Ben's Original Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Tex ...
), the Mrs. Butterworth's pancake syrup brand and bottle shape, and the "
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
" Black chef logo used by
Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first ...
. Days earlier, American satirical news outlet ''
The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...
'' published a fictional article about a similar announcement. Descendants of Aunt Jemima models Lillian Richard and Anna Short Harrington objected to the change. Vera Harris, a family historian for Richard's family, said "I wish we would take a breath and not just get rid of everything. Because good or bad, it is our history." Harrington's great-grandson Larnell Evans said "This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history." Evans had previously lost a lawsuit against Quaker Oats (and others) for billions of dollars in 2015. On February 9, 2021, PepsiCo announced that the replacement brand name would be Pearl Milling Company. PepsiCo had purchased that brand name for that purpose on February 1, 2021. The new branding was launched that June, one year after the company announced they would drop Aunt Jemima branding. PepsiCo referenced the Aunt Jemima brand by
logotype A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...
on the front of the packaging for at least six months after the rebrand. Following that period, PepsiCo said it won't be able to completely permanently abandon the Aunt Jemima brand due to
trademark law A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
; if it does, a third party could obtain and use the brand.


Character of Aunt Jemima

Aunt Jemima is based on the common "Mammy" archetype, a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant. Her skin is dark and dewy, with a pearly white smile. Although depictions vary over time, they are similar to the common attire and physical features of "mammy" characters throughout American history. The term "aunt" and "uncle" in this context was a Southern form of address used with older enslaved peoples. They were denied use of courtesy titles, such as "mistress" and "mister". A British image in the Library of Congress, which may have been created as early as 1847, shows a smiling black woman named "Miss Jim-Ima Crow," with a framed image of "James Crow" on the wall behind her. A character named "Aunt Jemima" appeared on the stage in Washington, D.C., as early as 1864. Rutt's inspiration for Aunt Jemima was Billy Kersands' American-style minstrelsy/
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
song "
Old Aunt Jemima "Old Aunt Jemima" is an American folk song written by comedian, songwriter, and minstrel show performer Billy Kersands (circa 1842–1915). The song became the inspiration for the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes, as well as several characters in ...
", written in 1875. Rutt reportedly saw a minstrel show featuring the "Old Aunt Jemima" song in the fall of 1889, presented by blackface performers identified by Arthur F. Marquette as "Baker & Farrell". Marquette recounts that the actor playing Aunt Jemima wore an
apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...
and
kerchief A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...
. However, Doris Witt at
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
was unable to confirm Marquette's account. Witt suggests that Rutt might have witnessed a performance by the vaudeville performer Pete F. Baker, who played characters described in newspapers of that era as "Ludwig" and "Aunt Jemima". His portrayal of the Aunt Jemima character may have been a white male in blackface, pretending to be a German immigrant, imitating a black minstrel parodying an imaginary black female enslaved cook. Beginning in 1894, the company added an Aunt Jemima paper doll family that could be cut out from the pancake box. Aunt Jemima is joined by her husband, Uncle
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
(later renamed Uncle Mose to avoid confusion with the
Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first ...
character, while Uncle Mose was first introduced as the plantation butler). Their children, described as "comical pickaninnies": Abraham Lincoln, Dilsie, Zeb, and Dinah. The paper doll family was posed dancing barefoot, dressed in tattered clothing, and the box was labeled "Before the Receipt was sold." (
Receipt A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or propert ...
is an archaic rural form of recipe.) Buying another box with elegant clothing cut-outs to fit over the dolls, the customer could transform them "After the Receipt was sold." This placed them in the Horatio Alger rags-to-riches American cultural mythos. Rag doll versions were offered as a premium in 1909: "Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour/Pica ninny Doll/ The Davis Milling Company." Early versions were portrayed as poor people with patches on the trousers, large mouths, and missing teeth. The children's names were changed to Diana and Wade. Over time, there were improvements in appearance. Oil-cloth versions were available circa the 1950s, with cartoonish features, round eyes, and watermelon mouths. Marketing materials for the line of products centered around the "Mammy" archetype, including the slogan first used at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
in Chicago, Illinois: "I's in Town, Honey". At that World's Fair, and for decades afterward, marketers created and circulated fictional stories about Aunt Jemima. She was presented as a "loyal cook" for a fictional Colonel Higbee's
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
plantation on the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. Jemima was said to use a secret recipe "from the South before the Civil War," with their "matchless plantation flavor," to make the best pancakes in
Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...
. Another story described her as diverting Union soldiers during the Civil War with her pancakes long enough for Colonel Higbee to escape. She was said to have revived a group of shipwrecked survivors with her flapjacks. A typical magazine ad from the turn of the century created by advertising executive James Webb Young, and the illustrator N.C. Wyeth, shows a heavyset black cook talking happily while a white man takes notes. The ad copy says, "After the Civil War, after her master's death, Aunt Jemima was finally persuaded to sell her famous pancake recipe to the representative of a northern milling company." However, the Davis Milling Company was not located in a northern state.
Missouri in the American Civil War During the American Civil War, Missouri was a hotly contested border state populated by both Union and Confederate sympathizers. It sent armies, generals, and supplies to both sides, maintained dual governments, and endured a bloody ...
was a hotly contested border state. In reality, she never existed, created by marketers to better sell products.


Controversy

Although the Aunt Jemima character was not created until nearly 25 years after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, the clothing, dancing, enslaved dialect, singing old plantation songs as she worked, all harkened back to a glorified view of
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...
Southern plantation life as a " happy slave" narrative. The marketing legend surrounding Aunt Jemima's successful commercialization of her "secret recipe" contributes to the post-Civil War nostalgia and romanticism of Southern life in service of America's developing consumer culture — especially in the context of selling kitchen items. African American women formed the Women's Columbian Association and the Women's Columbian Auxiliary Association to address the exclusion of African Americans from the 1893
World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
exhibitions, asking that the fair reflect the success of post-Emancipation African Americans. Instead, the Fair included a miniature West African village whose natives were portrayed as primitive savages.
Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...
was incensed by the exclusion of African Americans from mainstream fair activities; so-called "Negro Day" was a picnic held off-site from the fairgrounds. Black scholars Hallie Quinn Brown,
Anna Julia Cooper Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (August 10, 1858February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, sociologist, speaker, Black liberation activist, and one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. Born into slaver ...
, and
Fannie Barrier Williams Frances "Fannie" Barrier Williams (February 12, 1855 – March 4, 1944) was an African American educator, civil rights, and women's rights activist, and the first black woman to gain membership to the Chicago Woman's Club. She became well kno ...
used the World's Fair as an opportunity to address how African American women were being exploited by white men. In her book ''A Voice from the South'' (1892), Cooper had noted the fascination with "Southern influence, Southern ideas, and Southern ideals" had "dictated to and domineered over the brain and sinew of this nation". These educated progressive women saw "a mammy for the national household" represented at the World's Fair by Aunt Jemima. This directly relates to the belief that slavery cultivated innate qualities in African Americans. The notion that African Americans were natural servants reinforced a racist ideology renouncing the reality of African American intellect. Aunt Jemima embodied a post-Reconstruction fantasy of idealized domesticity, inspired by "happy slave" hospitality, and revealed a deep need to redeem the antebellum South. There were others that capitalized on this theme, such as Uncle Ben's Rice and
Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first ...
's Rastus.


Performers of Aunt Jemima

The African American Registry of the United States suggests Nancy Green and others who played the caricature of Aunt Jemima should be celebrated despite what has been widely condemned as a stereotypical and racist brand image. The registry wrote, "we celebrate the birth of Nancy Green in 1834. She was a Black storyteller and one of the first Black corporate models in the United States." Following Green's work as Aunt Jemima, very few were well-known. Advertising agencies (such as
J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...
, Draftfcb, Lord and Thomas, and others) hired dozens of actors to portray the role, often assigned regionally, as the first organized sales promotion campaign. Quaker Oats ended local appearances for Aunt Jemima in 1965.


Nancy Green

Nancy Green was the first spokesperson hired by the R. T. Davis Milling Company for the Aunt Jemima pancake mix. Green was born into slavery in Montgomery County, Kentucky, Montgomery County, Kentucky. Dressed as Aunt Jemima, Green appeared at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
in Chicago, beside the "world's largest flour barrel" (24 feet high), where she operated a pancake-cooking display, sang songs, and told romanticized stories about the Old South (a happy place for blacks and whites alike). She appeared at fairs, festivals, flea markets, food shows, and local grocery stores; her arrival heralded by large billboards featuring the caption, "I'se in town, honey." Green refused to cross the ocean for the 1900 Exposition Universelle (1900), Paris exhibition. She was replaced by Agnes Moodey, "a negress of 60 years", who was then reported as the original Aunt Jemima. Green died in 1923 and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery. A headstone was placed on September 5, 2020.


Agnes Moody

Agnes Moody performed as Aunt Jemima at the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Paris Fair.


Lillian Richard

Lillian Richard was hired to portray Aunt Jemima in 1925, and remained in the role for 23 years. Richard was born in 1891, and grew up in the tiny community of Fouke, Texas, Fouke 7 miles west of Hawkins, Texas, Hawkins in Wood County, Texas, Wood County, Texas. In 1910, she moved to Dallas, working initially as a cook. Her job "pitching pancakes" was based in Paris, Texas, Paris, Texas. After she suffered a stroke ''circa'' 1947–1948, she returned to Fouke, where she lived until her death in 1956. Richard was honored with a Texas Historical Marker in her hometown, dedicated in her name on June 30, 2012. Hawkins, Texas, Hawkins, Texas, east of Mineola, Texas, Mineola, is known as the "Pancake Capital of Texas" because of longtime resident Lillian Richard. The local chamber of commerce decided to use Hawkins' connection to Aunt Jemima to boost tourism. In 1995, State Senator David Cain introduced Senate Resolution No. 73 designating Hawkins as the "Pancake Capital of Texas", which was passed into law; the measure was spearheaded by Lillian's niece, Jewell Richard-McCalla.


Anna Robinson

Anna Robinson was hired to play Aunt Jemima at the 1933 Century of Progress Chicago World's Fair. Robinson answered an open audition, and her appearance was more like the "mammy" stereotype than the slender Lillian Richard. Born circa 1899, she was also from Kentucky and widowed (like Green), but in her 30s with 8 years of education. She was sent to New York City by FCB (advertising agency), Lord and Thomas to have her picture taken. "Never to be forgotten was the day they loaded 350 pounds of Anna Robinson on the Twentieth Century Limited." She appeared at prestigious establishments frequented by the rich and famous, such as El Morocco, the Stork Club, "21 Club, 21", and the Waldorf-Astoria. Photos show Robinson making pancakes for celebrities and stars of Broadway theatre, Broadway, radio, and motion pictures. They were used in advertising "ranked among the highest read of their time". The Aunt Jemima #Logo, packaging was redesigned in her likeness. Robinson reportedly worked for the company until her death in 1951, although the work was sporadic and for mere weeks in a year. Nevertheless, this was not enough to escape the hard life into which she was born. Her $1,200 total payment in 1939 () was almost the entirety of the household's annual income. The official Aunt Jemima history timeline once stated she was "able to make enough money to provide for her children and buy a 22-room house where she rents rooms to boarders". The same claim was made for Anna Short Harrington. According to the 1940 census, she rented an apartment in a four-flat in Washington Park (community area), Chicago, Washington Park with her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren.


Rosa Washington Riles

Rosa Washington Riles became the third face on Aunt Jemima packaging in the 1930s, and continued until 1948. Rosa Washington was born in 1901 near Redoak, Ohio, Red Oak in Brown County, Ohio, Brown County, Ohio, one of several children of Robert and Julie (Holliday) Washington and a granddaughter of George and Phoeba Washington. She was employed as a cook in the home of a Quaker Oats executive and began pancake demonstrations at her employer's request. She died in 1969, and is buried near her parents and grandparents in the historic Red Oak Presbyterian Church cemetery of Ripley, Ohio, Ripley, Ohio. An annual Aunt Jemima breakfast has been a long-time fundraiser for the cemetery, and the church maintains a collection of Aunt Jemima memorabilia.


Anna Short Harrington

Anna Short Harrington began her career as Aunt Jemima in 1935 and continued to play the role until 1954. She was born in 1897 in Marlboro County, South Carolina, Marlboro County, South Carolina. The Short family lived on the Pegues Place plantation as sharecroppers. In 1927, she moved to Syracuse, New York, Syracuse, New York. Quaker Oats discovered her cooking pancakes at the 1935 New York State Fair. Harrington died in Syracuse in 1955.


Edith Wilson

Edith Wilson became the face of Aunt Jemima on radio, television, and in personal appearances, from 1948 to 1966. Wilson was the first Aunt Jemima to appear in television commercials. She was born in 1896 in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. Wilson was a classic blues singer and actress in Chicago, New York, and London. She appeared on radio in ''The Great Gildersleeve'', on radio and television in ''Amos 'n' Andy'', and on film in ''To Have and Have Not (film), To Have and Have Not'' (1944). On March 31, 1981, she died in Chicago.


=Key to the city

= The Aunt Jemima character, portrayed at the time by Edith Wilson (singer), Edith Wilson, received the Key to the City of Albion, Michigan, Albion, Michigan, on January 25, 1964. Actresses portraying Aunt Jemima visited Albion, Battle Creek, Michigan, Battle Creek ("Cereal City"), and other Michigan cities many times over three decades. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids had an Aunt Jemima's Kitchen, one of 21 locations, until it was changed to Colonial Kitchen in 1968.


Ethel Ernestine Harper

Ethel Ernestine Harper portrayed Aunt Jemima during the 1950s. Harper was born on September 17, 1903, in Greensboro, Alabama, Greensboro, Alabama. Prior to the Aunt Jemima role, Harper graduated from college at the age of 17, taught elementary school for 2 years, high school mathematics for 10 years, moved to New York City where she performed in ''The Hot Mikado (1939 production), The Hot Mikado'' in 1939 and ''Harlem Cavalcade'' in 1942, then toured Europe during and after World War II as one of the Ginger Snaps. On March 31, 1979, she died in Morristown, New Jersey, Morristown, New Jersey. She was the last individual model for the character's logo.


Rosie Lee Moore Hall

Rosie Lee Moore Hall portrayed Aunt Jemima from 1950 until her death in 1967. Hall was born on June 22, 1899, in Robertson County, Texas, Robertson County, Texas. She worked for Quaker Oats in the company's Oklahoma advertising department until she answered their search for a new Aunt Jemima. She suffered a heart attack on her way to church and died on February 12, 1967. She was buried in the family plot in the Colony Cemetery near Wheelock, Texas, Wheelock, Texas. Hall was the last "living" Aunt Jemima. On May 7, 1988, her grave was declared an historical landmark.


Aylene Lewis

Aylene Lewis portrayed Aunt Jemima at the Disneyland Aunt Jemima's Pancake House, a popular eating place at the park on New Orleans Street in Frontierland, from 1957 until her death in 1964. Lewis became well known posing for pictures with visitors and serving pancakes to dignitaries, such as Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She also developed a close relationship with Walt Disney.


Slang

The term "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used colloquially as a female version of the derogatory epithet "Uncle Tom" or "
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
". In this context, the slang term "Aunt Jemima" falls within the "mammy archetype" and refers to a friendly black woman who is perceived as obsequiously servile or acting in, or protective of, the interests of White Americans, whites. John Sylvester of WOZN (AM), WTDY-AM drew criticism after calling Condoleezza Rice an “Aunt Jemima” and Colin Powell an "Uncle Tom", referring to remarks by singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte about their alleged subservience in the George W. Bush administration. He apologized by giving away Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup. Barry Presgraves, then 77-year-old Mayor of Luray, Virginia, was censure in the United States, censured 5-to-1 by the town council because he referred to Kamala Harris as "Aunt Jemima" after she was selected by Joe Biden to be the 2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, Democratic Party vice presidential candidate.


In popular culture

Aunt Jemima has been featured in various formats and settings throughout popular culture. Much of the attention drawn to this product in 2020 and 2021 is attributed to the decision by PepsiCo in June 2020 to rename the product, and the misrepresentation of Nancy Green's legacy, amidst 2020–2022 United States racial unrest, heavy racial tension in the United States and around the world. Aunt Jemima has been a present image identifiable by popular culture for well over a century, dating back to Nancy Green's appearance at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893 World Fair in Chicago, Illinois. ''Aunt Jemima'', a minstrel-type variety radio program, was broadcast January 17, 1929 – June 5, 1953, at times on CBS and at other times on the Blue Network. The program had several hiatuses during its time on the air. The 1933 novel ''Imitation of Life (novel), Imitation of Life'' by Fannie Hurst features an Aunt Jemima-type character, Delilah, a maid struggling in life with her widowed employer, Bea. Their fortunes change dramatically when Bea capitalizes on Delilah's family pancake recipe to open a pancake restaurant that attracts tourists at the Jersey Shore. It became a great success and was eventually packaged and sold as Aunt Delilah's Pancake Mix. They achieve that success due to selling flour with a smiling Delilah on the box dressed in Aunt Jemima fashion. The Academy Award-nominated 1934 film version of ''Imitation of Life (1934 film), Imitation of Life'' starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers retains this part of the plot, which was excised from the 1959 remake of ''Imitation of Life (1959 film), Imitation of Life'' starring Lana Turner and directed by Douglas Sirk. The 1950s television show ''Beulah (show), Beulah'' came under fire for depicting a "mammy"-like black maid and cook who was somewhat reminiscent of Aunt Jemima. In the 1960s, Betye Saar began collecting images of Aunt Jemima, Uncle Tom, Little Black Sambo, and other stereotyped African-American figures from folk culture and advertising of the Jim Crow laws, Jim Crow era. She incorporated them into collages and assemblages, transforming them into statements of political and social protest. The Liberation of Aunt Jemima is one of her most notable works from this era. In this mixed-media assemblage, Saar utilized the stereotypical Mammy archetype, mammy figure of Aunt Jemima to subvert traditional notions of race and gender. "Aunt Jemima's Kitchen" — named Aunt Jemima's Pancake House when it first started operating in 1955 — was a restaurant opened in 1962 during the Civil Rights Movement as the official Aunt Jemima restaurant at Disneyland. In addition to the restaurant, a woman portraying Aunt Jemima was poised at the restaurant to take pictures with its patrons. Aunt Jemima's Kitchen also had additional locations across the United States. Frank Zappa includes a song titled "Electric Aunt Jemima" on his 1969 album ''Uncle Meat''. Electric Aunt Jemima was the nickname for Zappa's Standel guitar amplifier. Faith Ringgold’s first quilt story ''Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima?'' (1983) depicts the story of Aunt Jemima as a matriarch restaurateur: through mediums of text and imagery used to characterize Aunt Jemima in the public sphere, Ringgold represented the oppressed mammy caricature as an entrepreneur. "Burn Hollywood Burn" on Public Enemy (band), Public Enemy's 1990 Album ''Fear of a Black Planet'' features Big Daddy Kane commenting on the updating of racial tropes with the lyrics, "And black women in this profession / As for playin' a lawyer, out of the question / For what they play Aunt Jemima is the perfect term / Even if now she got a perm." Spike Lee's 2000 film ''Bamboozled'' features Aunt Jemima (played by Tyheesha Collins) as one of the dancing "pickaninnies" in the film's deliberately racist TV show ''Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show'', alongside other stereotypical black antebellum South characters like
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
. The 2004 mockumentary ''C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America'' features numerous depictions of Aunt Jemima-type characters as slaves (referred to as servants) in an alternate timeline in which the Confederate States of America, Confederacy won the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. In the ''South Park'' episode "Gluten Free Ebola" (2014), Aunt Jemima appears in Eric Cartman's delirious dream (as a parody of Mother Abigail from Stephen King's, ''The Stand'') to tell him that the Food pyramid (nutrition), food pyramid is upside down. On November 7, 2020, the comedy sketch TV series ''Saturday Night Live'' featured a skit which Aunt Jemima was fired, in addition to Ben's Original, Uncle Ben, with roles played by "Count Chocula" and the "Dennis Haysbert, Allstate Guy".


See also

*List of syrups *Banania *Betty Crocker * Mrs. Butterworth's *Darlie *
Rastus Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. History "Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel ...
*Sarotti *
Ben's Original Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that was introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Its headquarters are in Denver Harbor, Houston, Tex ...


References


Further reading

* *
''Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping''
Kenneth Goings, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, 1994, *
quote=Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima. --> ''Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima''
Maurice M. Manring, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1998,
''Black Hunger: Soul Food and America''
Doris Witt, ebrary, Inc, University of Minnesota Press, 2004, ,


External links

* (2021–present)
Aunt Jemima official website2001
2021)
The Progression of Aunt Jemima
American Cultural Icons.
Collection of mid-twentieth century advertising featuring Aunt Jemima
from The TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design. {{Authority control Syrup Food advertising characters Quaker Oats Company brands Pinnacle Foods brands Mascots introduced in 1889 Fictional African-American people Fictional slaves Baking mixes Anti-African and anti-black slurs Name changes due to the George Floyd protests Food manufacturers of the United States American pancakes Race-related controversies in advertising and marketing Female characters in advertising