The Aunt Jemima brand, that we have known for years will change in the next coming months. Quaker Oats has announced that the brand will get new branding and new packaging before the end of 2020.
The company says "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," Kristin Kroepfl, CEO of Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement. "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 brand portrays an obese, coarse, black maternal figure, who loved her white 'family and gave the appearance that slaves were happy, according to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia in Big Rapids, Michigan.