Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Aunt Jemima

I have been buying Aunt Jemima syrup for my waffles and pancakes for as long as I can remember.  If I ever thought about the origins of Aunt Jemima, I assumed she was a woman who knew how to make maple syrup, like Marie Calendar knows pies and Betty Crocker makes cakes.  I suspect that the VAST majority of people had the same impression as I did.  Well, it turns out that Old Jemima was a character in a minstrel show dating back to the 19th century.  Racist.  So now it will have to change.  Uncle Ben is next in the firing line.  I think Famous Amos is safe because he's a real person who bakes a good cookie.  Then again, with a name like Amos (e.g. Amos and Andy), he might have to makes some changes too.  Pretty soon, the only non-racist mascots will be white.  Is that an improvement?

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