Uncle Bens Aunt Jemima the racist packaging raises its fist

The murder of George Floyd by a white police officer broke the camel's back for ordinary racism in the United States . We have witnessed the immediate rebirth of the BLACKLIVESMATTER movement on the networks, from which stem many challenges to white privilege, and above all a call for awareness and even action. It is in this turbulent context that several American brands - such as Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben's - have recently decided to get rid of logotypes and names imbued with racial stereotypes . racist branding Reading the French comments on the articles announcing these changes, we realize that the weight of these stereotypes is not really understood on this side of the ocean . We can read for example.

How can 'uncle ben's' be considered 'racist'? Frankly, it becomes nonsense" or " We should still stop the bullshit in this country and know that the coffee grounds will remain always black no matter what we say or do." and "To the commentators: And if not, take background remove service a deep breath and calm down, because it's only a mark of rice? "Some logos that are part of of our daily landscape and seem to us at first sight "normal" and anything but scandalous,which should no longer be necessary for a long time. The brand Quaker Oats (PepsiCo), known for its oatmeal, recently announced that it was going to review the packaging and the name of its brand of powdered pancakes Aunt Jemima (not marketed in France) accused of racism .

Quaker claimed that this brand is indeed "based on a racial stereotype" and that they thus wish "to take a step forward towards racial equality". A few hours later, Uncle Ben's (Mars) confirmed they wanted to change their name and brand image , followed by Mrs Butterworth's syrups (Conager) and the Cream of Wheat brand.(B&G), i.e. 4 brands in just a few days, unheard of for the same motif in the branding scene. Let's first start by taking a big step back to explain why. Snow-white brand names, really? Created in 1889 by Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood, the Aunt Jemima logo is one of the oldest in the United States and one of the oldest registered trademarks in the world . Its history is unfortunately far from glorious. Instant Pancake Powder is named after black artist Billy Kersands' 1875 song " Old Aunt Jemima ," originally sung by slaves. Aunt Jemima was a hit on the minstrel shows ", hugely popular racist dance shows in which Rutt participated, in which white men with blackfaces ( blackfaces ) ridiculed black people.