Quaker Oats is retiring the brand and logo of more than 130-year-old Aunt Jemima, recognizing its origins as being based on a racial stereotype.
“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,” the company owned by Pepsi said in a statement provided to CNN Business.
The appearance of Aunt Jemima has grown over time. The name and logo of the company is based on a minstrel show performer’s song “Old Aunt Jemima,” which is allegedly sung by slaves. The company’s website said the logo began in 1890 and was based on Nancy Green, a “storyteller, cook and missionary worker.” However, Green was born into slavery, the website fails to mention.
Repeated calls have been made for the organization to update its branding. In an opinion piece written in the New York Times in 2015, Cornell University professor Riché Richardson said the logo is “very much linked to segregation in the South.”
Richardson said the Aunt Jemima image is focused on a “mammy,’ a loving and submissive woman who happily nurtured the offspring of her white owner and boss while neglecting their own.’ The U.S. Senate endorsed a statue of a slave mammy model in 1923, although it was never built.
They also ran sexist advertisements for many decades, with the mammy stereotype personified by actresses. The logo evolved over the years, and in the 1990s, it even hired singer Gladys Knight as a spokeswoman. Today, Aunt Jemima describes herself as a brand that stands for “warmth, nourishment, and trust — qualities that you will find in loving moms from various backgrounds who want the best for their family.”
“While research has been undertaken over the years to redesign the brand in a way that is intended to be fitting and respectful, we recognize that those improvements are not enough,” said Kristin Kroepfl, CMO of Quaker Oats North America in the release.
Following national race uproar since George Floyd ‘s death in police custody, companies are demanding improvements.
Pepsi has not yet announced a new logo for breakfast products, or a brand name. That’s going to debut in the fall. The Aunt Jemima brand was purchased by Quaker Oats in 1926. In 2001 PepsiCo acquired Quaker Oats.
Aunt Jemima brand has pledged to donate $5 million over the next five years “create meaningful, ongoing support and engagement in the Black community.” Pepsi has also announced a $400 million set of initiatives to support the black lives matter movement.
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