When Quaker Oats made the decision to discontinue the “Aunt Jemima” brand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, there was an immediate uproar. However, one individual had a different perspective. Larnell Evans Sr., a Marine Corps veteran and great-grandson of “Aunt Jemima,” objected to the choice. He believed that erasing the brand would also erase an important part of black history and the struggles endured by his family.
Evans passionately stated, “This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history. The company profited off images of our slavery, and their solution is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. It hurts.” He spoke out against the notion that the racism associated with the brand originated from the black community, highlighting that it actually stems from the history of white people.
The “Aunt Jemima” brand, which depicted a black lady named Nancy Green who had been enslaved, will now be permanently retired by Quaker Oats. While Quaker referred to Green as a “storyteller, cook, and missionary worker,” she was born into slavery. The brand was first used when another woman named Anna Short Harrington served pancakes at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. After her passing, Quaker named her as the new “Aunt Jemima” in 1923, a role that Larnell Evans Sr.’s great-grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, would take on in 1935.
Evans highlights his great-grandmother’s dedicated service to Quaker Oats for over 20 years, traveling across the United States and Canada as Aunt Jemima herself. He questions the swift abandonment of the partnership once it became convenient, particularly because Quaker Oats plans to remove the name altogether. Evans points out the irony of how many white individuals grew up with Aunt Jemima as a breakfast staple, while the profits largely benefited white corporations, without any compensation to his family.
He expresses his frustration, asking, “They’re just going to erase history like it didn’t happen? They’re not going to give us anything? What gives them the right?”
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