They Were Slow as Molasses: Quaker Finally Cancels Aunt Jemima

AP Photo/Donald King
AP featured image
A bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup sits on a counter, Wednesday, June 17, 2020 in White Plains, N.Y.

 

It’s the end of an era: America’s gold standard for delicious pancake-topping goodness is getting a makeover.

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That’s right — the iconic Aunt Jemima syrup will be renamed.

As reported by The New York Times, the brand — which was begun in 1889 — “is built on images of a black female character that have often been criticized as offensive.”

Over the years, there’s been a series of updates:

But it appears they’ve been deemed insufficient:

Even after going through several redesigns — pearl earrings and a lace collar were added in 1989 — Aunt Jemima was still seen by many as a symbol of slavery.

AJ’s produced by Quaker Foods, the company responsible for the whitest man in America — and who, despite an online conspiracy, is not singer Harry Styles:

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As per a statement by Quaker Foods North America VP and Chief Marketing Officer Kristin Kroepfl, the company’s determined to move in only One Direction — forward:

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. 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.

We acknowledge the brand has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the confidence, warmth and dignity that we would like it to stand for today. We are starting by removing the image and changing the name. We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand and make it one everyone can be proud to have in their pantry.

So how will the redesign look? That remains unclear, but — according to NBC News — it’ll debut in the fall.

And “a new name…will be announced at a later date.”

As for the new packaging, satirical site The Onion made a progressive proposal:

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However it turns out, it won’t be your kitchen cabinets’ only familial change — on the heels of NYT’s syrupy story, Mars Inc. made quite the announcement itself.

Say goodbye to both your aunt and your uncle:

A suggestion for that one: Fight the patriarchy and introduce Condoleeza Rice™.

-ALEX

 

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