The great-grandson of the original Aunt Jemima expressed his rage at how pop culture is erasing her heritage after the announcement of Quaker Foods’ rebranding.
The brand will be rebranded after Quaker Foods gave in to pressure and “cancelled” Aunt Jemima, as we previously mentioned. The great-grandson of the real Aunt Jemima, Anna Short Harrington, is now speaking out to express his outrage and disappointment at the erasure of her legacy.
This is unfair to my family and I. Dr. Larnell Evans Sr. advised Patch. To prove that the whites on the other side are the cause of the alleged racism, they use images from enslavement. ”.
This business makes money off of representations of our slavery. They have chosen to accomplish this by erasing my great-grandmother’s past—a woman of color. It hurts. ”.
During the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Nancy Green, a former slave, debuted the first “Aunt Jemima. ”. Cook Green held a position on the city’s South Side. In exchange for donning an apron and a headscarf and serving pancakes to fairgoers, she was paid.
She was portrayed as “Aunt Jemima” up until her death in 1923. ”. Evans stated that after that, his grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, assumed leadership.
Applications from Quaker Foods for the likeness of Anna Short Harrington.
At Syracuse University, where she worked as a chef, the fraternities praised Harrington’s pancakes. A Quaker Foods employee came across her while she was distributing homemade pancakes at the 1935 New York State Fair.
While she was still employed by Quaker Foods, her picture appeared in commercials and on merchandise.
Harrington also made a name for herself by dispensing pancakes across the country while posing as “Aunt Jemima.”.
She spent 20 years working for Quaker Oats. She allegedly served pancakes to visitors from all over the United States and Canada while posing as Aunt Jemima, according to Evans.
“This woman served everyone during the post-slavery era. She is an individual who serves as Aunt Jemima. She behaved that way. As a black man telling you about the history of my family that they are attempting to obliterate, how do you think I feel sitting here?
Evans claims that a 66-year-old U.S. S. The pancake recipe created by Harrington, a former Marine, was also used by S. Quaker Foods. Her heirs attempted to sue the company for $3 billion for failing to pay them royalties in 2014, but they were unsuccessful.
Evans is uncompromising.
Evans argued that rather than completely removing the images of Green and Harrington and depictions of slavery from stores, Quaker Foods should admit that they were profitable.
He asked, “How many white people watched cartoons like Aunt Jemima at breakfast every day? How many white businesses made enormous profits while giving us nothing? I think they ought to look into it. While we are still in pain, they cannot remove it. ”.
Evans went on to ask, “After making all that money, they’re just going to erase history as if it never happened—and now that backers are demanding restitution for slavery?”. They don’t give us anything, what gives them this power, they don’t give us anything.
According to Quaker Foods, all products will be free of all Aunt Jemima branding and artwork by the end of the year.
