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Aunt Jemima Resigns

June 17, 2020

Aunt Jemima, a staple brand name of syrup and pancake mix since 1889, is going to disappear later this year in an attempt to foster racial equality.

The Quaker Oats Company, which has owned the brand since 1926, announced Wednesday it is discontinuing the packaging and the name.

“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,” said Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, in a press release. “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.”

The character derives from a 19th century minstrel song. It depicts an older black woman who is friendly and, according to critics, servile.

The for-real announcement on Wednesday, June 17 that Aunt Jemima is going away came five days after a satirical news story by The Onion appeared claiming that Quaker Oats was replacing Aunt Jemima with a black female bisexual lawyer fluent in Italian named Sheila “who enjoys pancakes from time to time.”

Quaker Oats since 2001 has been owned by PepsiCo Inc., the maker of Pepsi.

Pepsi has long marketed itself as hip and cutting edge, and now is going woke, with an announcement Tuesday, June 16 that the company will spend $400 million over five years on not-yet-detailed initiatives designed to help black people in America:

 

 


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