Quaker Oats announced on Wednesday that the Aunt Jemima brand of syrup and pancake mix will be getting a new name and image, after they acknowledged that "Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype."
The brand, which has been in production for 130 years, features a black woman named Aunt Jemima, who was originally dressed as a minstrel character.
While the image of Aunt Jemima has changed over recent years - with Quaker having made the decision to remove the "mammy" kerchief from the character to quell mounting criticism that the imagery perpetuated racist stereotypes that date back to the days of slavery - the company has now asserted that their recent efforts are in a bid "to make progress toward racial equality".
"We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype," Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods - which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo - said in a press release, per NBC News.
"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."
Kroepfl detailed that the brand has attempted to "update" the brand to be "appropriate and respectful", but have realized that their changes were insufficient.
People on social media have called out the Aunt Jemima brand for continuing to use the image, after a slew of anti-racism protests swept the United States and other major cities across the globe, following the death of George Floyd.
Speaking on the TODAY show on Wednesday, Riché Richardson, an associate professor at Cornell University, said that Aunt Jemima is "a retrograde image of black womanhood on store shelves."
"It’s an image that harkens back to the antebellum plantation... Aunt Jemima is that kind of stereotype is premised on this idea of black inferiority and otherness," he continued. "It is urgent to expunge our public spaces of a lot of these symbols that for some people are triggering and represent terror and abuse."
Floyd, a black man, was arrested by Minneapolis police on Monday, May 25, for reportedly using a counterfeit $20 note in a store. While being detained, ex-cop Derek Chauvin - a 19-year veteran of the force - knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds.
Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, while the three other arresting officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.
