Aunt Jemima’s breakfast brand is being eliminated amid a national campaign that cancels everything from TV police shows to high school names in the name of racial sensitivity.
The 130-year-old maple syrup mascot received a strong reaction following the Black Lives Matter national protest over the murder of George Floyd and several other black Americans.
“We recognize that Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on racial stereotypes,” Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and head of marketing for Quaker Foods North America, notify NBC News. Representatives of the PepsiCo subsidiary added that Jemima’s retirement from syrup packaging is part of the company’s efforts “to make progress towards racial equality.”
This logo was originally based on the song “Old Bibi Jemima” by minstrel performers, CNN Report. The character has undergone several changes, most recently removing a “mammy” handkerchief from around his neck amid criticism that Jemima perpetuated the stereotype of the Jim Crow era.
However, iteration is currently burning online amid increasing racial tensions across the nation.
Reddit founder, Alexis Ohanian tweeted Tuesday, “How can Aunt Jemima not be canceled ??” with a link to viral TikTok video by singer Kirby detailing the dirty origins of pariah pancakes. The clip, entitled “How to Make Breakfast Not Racist” squeezed 2 million views on Twitter alone and became the No. trending topic. 10 in the US on social media platforms, according to Yahoo Finance.
Kroepfl has since admitted in his statement that previous efforts to “renew” the brand to be more “appropriate and polite” were not enough.
