The Aunt Jemima Brand Will Retire Name and Image After Acknowledging Its Racist Past

For years, we have been using Aunt Jemima for pancakes and syrup. But did we really know the story behind the face on the label?

Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand will get a new name and image after the backlash they recently received. The brand has an image of a black women named Aunt Jemima on their products. She was inspired by the ‘mammy’ stereotype from the late 1800s. The Aunt Jemima brand has been around for more than 130 years.

“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 of Quaker Foods North America. “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”

The new packaging is expected to hit shelves by the fourth quarter of 2020. PepsiCo said it would announce the brand’s new name at a later date.

Aunt Jemima isn’t the only rebranding we have seen lately. Land O’Lakes announced that they will no longer portray a Native American woman on its packages anymore. The Native American women has been on their packing since the 1920s. Though they removed the Native American woman, an image of her land is still on the products.