What's the deal with Aunt Jemima and why is it important?

Last Wednesday, June 17, Quaker Oats and its parent company PepsiCo acknowledged that their Aunt Jemima brand was based on a racial stereotype. They are going to retire the trademark and rename its pancakes mixes and syrups. www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-aunt-jemima-brand-quaker-oats-20200617-qgpyv5hslfazzejk5hx7ak4hcm-story.html

For some this was a huge victory.  Others saw this as trivial and wondered what images or brands would be removed next.  I did quite a lot of reading of “conversations" on Social Media about the removal of Aunt Jemima as a brand.  In doing this I learned yet again how hard it is to have conversations about the topic of race in America.

In writing about this decision, my desire is to provide light and to lessen the heat.

So what’s the deal about Aunt Jemima and why is this important?

It’s all about a stereotype. 

Of all the online reading I did on this topic, Wikipedia expressed the stereotype clearly. “Aunt Jemima is based on the common enslaved "Mammy" archetype, a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant.  Her skin is dark and dewy, with a pearly white smile. Although depictions vary over time, they are similar to the common attire and physical features of "mammy" characters throughout history.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jemima

Put most simply Aunt Jemima represented a stereotype of a happy slave woman who obediently served her Masters. The implication of the stereotype is that slavery was not really as bad as many have made it out to be.

Some see this decision as rewriting or ignoring history. Removing Aunt Jemima as a brand is to expunge from history her role as part of the brand of Quaker Oats. Relatives of former Aunt Jemima spokeswomen shared this thought.  https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/relatives-aunt-jemima-actresses-express-concern-history-will-be-erased-n1231769

Last night at Chain of Lakes Church approximately fifteen people gathered to talk about the topic of Race. During the conversation people of color shared how they deal almost daily with the projections that people put onto them. Because of the color of the skin people have a stereotype of who they are. This stereotype certainly doesn’t fit and their lives are much, much more difficult. They have been stopped by police because of the color of their skin; they have been prevented from boarding airplanes; people have asked them if they need welfare or scholarships when they don't need it or want it.

I played football at Carleton college. Though it was at the Division III level, I can guarantee that my desire to win on a Saturday afternoon rivaled that of any college football player in the country. At Carleton I received many projections on the stereotypes that people had of a football player. “You receive special treatment in class because football players do; you believe in violence because football is a violent sport; you look down on women because some football players have treated women poorly; you don’t deserve to be in school because football players received special treatment; you lack sophistication because football players don’t appreciate the arts.”  All of these projections are not true.

And let me be clear: the projections that I experienced based on a stereotype of a football player are miniscule in comparison to the projections that people of color are continuously experience.   

The removal of Aunt Jemima as a brand image by Quaker Oats is not going to end racism in the United States; however it is a small step towards removing a stereotype that has been harmful and has caused much pain. It’s not re-writing history.  Instead it’s acknowledging a symbol that has caused pain based on a racial stereotype. If this step can lessen the use of stereotypes for a race of people, then this is a very important deal. It is a step in the right direction.

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