Quaker Oats caused quite a stir when it announced that it would withdraw its “Aunt Jemima” brand in 2020 due to the Black Lives Matter movement.
However, just one day after the announcement, a great-grandson of “Aunt Jemima” opposed the decision, stating that the family thought it would only serve to whitewash black history and suffering.
“It is an injustice to me and my family.” Larnell Evans Sr., a Marine Corps veteran, commented, “This is part of my history.” The company faced accusations of wanting to abolish slavery after profiting from it for many years.
“The bigotry they discuss, which uses imagery of enslavement, comes from the opposite side—white people. “This company benefits from photos depicting our servitude.” And their response is to obliterate my great-grandmother’s history as a black female. It hurts.”
The brand, whose insignia depicts a black lady who was previously enslaved named Nancy Green, will be discontinued indefinitely, according to Quaker Oats. Green was born into slavery, but Quakers simply referred to her as a “storyteller, cook, and missionary worker,” according to records.
Green first used the “Aunt Jemima” brand name in 1893 when he hired her to serve pancakes at the Chicago World’s Fair. A Quaker Oats official saw Anna Short Harrington selling pancakes at the New York State Fair and chose to call her “Aunt Jemima” after she died in 1923. Larnell Evans Sr. believes that Anna Short Harrington was his great-grandmother. She took up the position in 1935.
Evans stated: “She worked for Quaker Oats for 20 years. Aunt Jemima went around the United States and Canada, preparing pancakes for them.
“This woman assisted all those individuals who had been enslaved.” She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job. How do you think I feel as a black guy sitting here telling you about my family history that they’re attempting to erase?
Evans is outraged that the collaboration was able to profit off of a racial stereotype before rapidly moving on when it became convenient, especially because Quaker Oats intends to remove the moniker.
“How many white folks grew up watching Aunt Jemima at breakfast every morning? How many white firms made all the profits without paying us a single cent? said Evans.
“Are they going to obliterate history as if it never happened? … They’re not going to offer us anything.” What gives them the right?”
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