By Wednesday morning, the internet erupted in a social media firestorm as the racist true story behind Quaker’s stereotypical Aunt Jemima brand made its rounds on Twitter.
Lexi Kennedy (@lexikennedy35), a 20-year-old actress from New York, had begun a thread the previous day recounting how the Quaker Oats Company, which bought the brand in 1926, used the likeness of a real woman named Nancy Green to promote a racist caricature of Black women to sell its product.
Kirby’s TikTok video, which has been viewed more than one million times, explains how the Aunt Jemima image originated from racist stereotypes of Black women.
Although Quaker’s prompt abandonment of the racist stereotypes that have undergirded the Aunt Jemima brand for more than a century represents a step in the right direction, some, including Kennedy, remain skeptical of the quick reversal.
Since the true story behind the Aunt Jemima imagery has become widely known, other brands guilty of the same kind of stereotypical portrayal of Black people have faced mounting pressure to replace the images on their packaging.
