Aunt Jemima deemed racist and getting rebranded

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It is also happening to Uncle Ben's rice and Mrs. Butterworth. The classic pictures that we see on the labels of these products will be removed because some people find them racist. More and more companies are caving into PC culture. I don't see how any of the brands are racist. They just show black people in a positive light. The black people that are portrayed in the images of these products are associated with good food.

I think we'll gradually see depictions of human beings removed from all commercial products. It's just not worth the risk of being accused of being racist, transphobic, homophobic etc. I can see the day where all commercials, without a single exception, will feature CGI animal characters and no humans whatsoever.

There will be people offended by that also.

The stupidity continues.
There is a "petition" going around to change the state of Victoria, Australia because queen Victoria was "Racist".
Same with "Queensland".

"Coco Pops", the breakfast cereal is racist also now.
I'm too old for this shite.



This nonsense if fuelled by a lust for exerting power over other people.
Simple.

There's a very good case for changing the branding of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, but there are black voices out there saying they should not be changed. If the majority of the black community would prefer to see the traditional images done away with, fine, but we are then ignoring a black minority which likely has the support of a majority regardless of race. I don't mind either way but there's going to be something that I do care about that becomes a target at some point.

I think the issue is specifically with the “Aunt” and “Uncle” parts of their names. Apparently in the American South many white people refuse to call black people by titles such as “Mister” so Uncle and Aunt have filled the same role.

I don’t have a strong opinion on this as I’m not familiar with the culture in question, but if these brands don’t want to be associated with those connotations any more then who am I to object? It’s certainly not worth getting upset about.

Black men are certainly being called “sir” and “mister” in the South of today. “ma’am” and “Mrs, Ms, Miss” for black women as well.

Sure, there are racists everywhere.

What annoys me is that people of European ancestry tend to be automatically deemed to be racists in the media by some. In real life, though, I have many friends and acquaintances of all races. My wife is black.

If I am called a racist because I benefit from a racist system, I get annoyed.

Identity politics sucks.

But we must change the police system, unequivocally.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 18 Jun 2020, 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

Before cancel culture was even a thing it was addressed.

To quote Captain Picard:"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

That Negro slave, or later in history...that Negro servant, of yours whom you had affection for, but certainly would NOT consider to be your equal, would be addressed as "aunt", or "uncle".

Thats what the branding was about. Aunt Jemima was that Negro slave ...who sure knew how to whip up some great pancakes for the plantation. So we have affection for her.

By the time of my Boomer childhood in the Sixties the Aunt Jemima character was already an anachronism. But it was a well known brand. So you still saw her on the grocery store shelf. Mom would joke about how they gave her a "make over". Her face did evolve during the Sixties so she looked a little less like a slave, and more like a respectable matron with make up. But that just kinda made it even more pathetic. So I am not surprised that they finally put AJ out of her misery, and the same with uncle Ben. Mrs Butterworth is different. She didnt even exist AFAIK until the late Seventies, and she never had any particular race as far as I know.

But I do admit that even though uncle ben and aunt jemima harken back to the days when Blacks were seen as servants, and only as servants, they arent nasty and mean as stereotypes. Just a bit demeaning, and bit anachronistic by my day- even my day fifty years ago.

But on the other hand, I do admit that...I still havent gotten over the loss of "the Frito Bandito".

During the Sixties Fritos corn chips had a cartoon guy in white Mexican peasant garb, and a sombero, with a bullet belt around his shoulder and six guns on his hips, and little black mustache -on the package. And you would see him firing his guns as he hawked the corn chips on TV commercials. He was the "Frito Bandito". What better spokesman for Mexican style corn chip snacks than a cartoon Mexican guy?



Around 1970 he became one of the first "victims" of PC when Frito-Lay decided that he was too much of a bad ethnic stereotype and removed him. Oh well.

I was already sick of AJ when I was child fifty years ago, but I thought the Frito Bandito was kinda cool. So I cant claim to have a truly consistent opinion about it.

 

Source: You're History!

Erasing history is cool.

The Frito Bandito was alive and well even in the 70s, and perhaps even into the 80s. I know I sang the “Frito Bandito” song in the late 70s.

Awhile ago I research the "Aunt Jemima" name and came back surprised it hadn't been "canceled" yet. I found it was a Minstrel/Vaudeville stereotype, but not particularly negative.

The decision to dump the name came soon after a The Onion "article" reported/predicted the same name cancel.
Quaker Oats Replaces Historically Racist Aunt Jemima Mascot

I remember Mrs.Butterworth as a talking bottle of syrup.I never thought of her as being any race.

The Quaker Oats company name is more interesting story. No Quaker was involved with founding the company. It was chosen at a time when food adulteration was a big problem and Quakers had a reputation as honest businessmen. Like "A Quaker would never use sawdust filler in their oatmeal" .

Actually, no part of history is being erased; it's the veneration of those parts that's being erased, that's all!

And it's about time it happened, too!!