Quaker Oats announced that its “Aunt Jemima” brand would be phased out in 2020 in reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Nevertheless, a great-grandson of “Aunt Jemima” objected to the decision, claiming that the family was concerned that it would just erase black history and suffering just one day after the choice was made public.
“I am the victim of this injustice, and so is my family.” Marine Corps veteran Larnell Evans Sr. said, “This is a part of my history.” He asserted that the firm was tasked with working to eradicate slavery after generating money from it for many years
They employ the imagery of slavery from the white side of the spectrum when referencing racism. These businesses make money off such depictions of our slavery. They also made the decision to obliterate my great-grandmother’s past. female of color It aches.
According to Quaker Oats, the brand, whose emblem includes a black woman named Nancy Green who was once a slave, will be discontinued permanently. Green was a “storyteller, cook, and missionary worker,” according to records, despite being born into slavery, according to Quakers.
Green initially employed the “Aunt Jemima” trade name in 1893, when she was hired to serve pancakes at the Chicago World’s Fair. A Quaker Oats representative named Anna Short Harrington “Aunt Jemima” after she passed away in 1923 after witnessing her serve pancakes at the New York State Fair. According to Larnell Evans Sr., his great-grandmother was Anna Short Harrington. She was selected for the role in 1935.
The woman had reportedly worked at Quaker Oats for 20 years, according to Evans. She made pancakes for people while on the road in the United States and Canada as Aunt Jemima.
This woman was enslaved and served all of those people. She served as Aunt Jemima for someone. That was her responsibility. How do you think I feel as a black man sitting here telling you about the history of my family that they’re attempting to erase?
Evans is furious that the business took advantage of a racial stereotype before moving on fast when it was appropriate because Quaker Oats plans to remove the brand.
How many white people watched Aunt Jemima over breakfast every morning as children? How many white companies gave us nothing while making enormous profits? Evans stated.
Are they simply going to ignore the past and act as if it never happened? Will they leave us in the dark? What gives them authority?
