In an unexpected turn of events, a descendant of “Aunt Jemima” stepped forward to express strong objection to the decision, stating that it would only gloss over the rich history and enormous pain black people undergo.
“This is a grave injustice not only to my family but also to me,” said Larnell Evans Sr., a decorated Marine Corps veteran. According to him, the firm profited from slavery for many years before assuming responsibility for eradicating its traces.
“The racism they claim to be fighting, using imagery associated with slavery, comes from the other side—the white community,” he claimed.
“This firm benefits by portraying our forefathers’ enslavement, and their remedy is to erase the history of my magnificent great-grandmother, a tough black lady… “It is quite painful.”
The brand’s creator, Quaker Oats, has announced that the cereal, which features a picture of a black woman who was once an enslaved person named Nancy Green, will no longer be available in stores.
Green is described in historical sources as a “storyteller, cook, and missionary worker” in the Quaker community.
When she was engaged to serve pancakes at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Green became connected with the “Aunt Jemima” brand.
Notably, Anna Short Harrington is the great-grandmother of Larnell Evans Sr. In 1935, she was officially cast as Aunt Jemima. “She had dedicated two decades of her life to Quaker Oats,” Evans said.
“She traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, embodying the character of Aunt Jemima while preparing and serving pancakes to countless individuals.”
“This remarkable woman selflessly served all those people after the dark era of slavery,” Evans declared emphatically. “She embraced her role as Aunt Jemima wholeheartedly.”
“Can you picture the emotions rushing through my veins as a black man as I sit here narrating my family’s story, which they are now attempting to erase?”
Evans expressed his displeasure with the relationship, underlining how the business profited unjustly from a racial stereotype and is now neatly dismissing it.
He posed provocative questions, such as, “How many white people grew up watching Aunt Jemima grace their breakfast tables every morning?” “How many white firms have amassed vast fortunes while leaving us nothing?”
“Are they simply attempting to erase history and pretend to be ignorant of the past?” he wondered. “Will they reimburse us for the erasure?” “Under what authority are they acting?”
