The Aunt Jemima brand and logo will be retired

[Victoria33]

I really don’t think we need to keep a racist “black mammy” on a syrup bottle in order to ensure that all food products keep their decorated packaging.

It’s not racist or that other description you use to me.

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It’s interesting how their website has plenty of African Americans. I say change it because of the history if you must but I don’t think the present image merits being called racist and so on.

http://www.auntjemima.com/

Don’t look now people, but Cap’n Crunch has his own syrup.

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[catholiclala]

This thread, I can’t even. Anytime anything is done to lessen historic pain and some people, who should be totally not be bothered have to raise a stink. So much lack of empathy and charity towards issues in which you have no idea how affected others are. Maybe some of you don’t get why some words and images cause a bad reaction in others and you don’t have to but just because it doesn’t bother you doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be addressed. Nobody here is going to be hurt if they don’t see Aunt Jemima or the words Master & Slave, so why so pressed to oppose changing these things? I’m really disappointed overall in how many Catholics on this site deal with racial issues. Not a good sign for the Church. I stick around so people like me have a voice.

 

[Mark121359]

people are slowly coming to realize how pervasive the issues of racial insensitivity and injustice are.

And a lot of us are fastly coming to realize that way, way, way too many people have become overly sensitive on these racial issues. It’s gotten to the point where people can’t even express an honest opinion about something, (Drew Brees) without the left beating said person to a pulp over it.

 

[Victoria33]

And a lot of us are fastly coming to realize that way, way, way too many people have become overly sensitive on these racial issues. It’s gotten to the point where people can’t even express an honest opinion about something, (Drew Brees) without the left beating said person to a pulp over it.

Amen to that, using emotion is fine, looking at the issue logically is good too. Why did polls reflect race relations were doing well in 2008 under Bush and better than what came after? People should not be accusatory. We’ve had a lot of time to work on this and work it out.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I lived in Hong Kong in the early 80’s and there was a toothpaste on sale there (made in Shanghai) called Darkie Toothpaste complete with the most outrageous caricature of a black person in a top hat. Even back then it was outrageously racist. And my wife still refuses to buy Coon cheese even though it’s the name of the creator. And those who grew up in the UK might remember the golliwog label on Robertsons Jam - as a kid Ibused to save the lavels from the jam and send them off to get golliwog lapel pins.

Different times. We were being racist but we didn’t know. Now we know…there’s no excuse.

They have changed the name of that toothpaste to “Darlie”, and the race of the man in the top hat has been made deliberately ambiguous (kind of like Mrs Butterworth). Asian cultures tend not to be as sensitive to these issues, as Western cultures (and particularly the United States) are.

The United States has had a horrible past where racial relations are concerned, but one thing I do take great pride in, is that in the past fifty-odd years, we have faced it head-on, and have dealt with it in a straightforward way, that I have to wonder if any country, in our circumstances, could have handled it as well. Think about it — roughly one-eighth of all Americans are recognizably the heirs of a long period of chattel slavery, followed by discrimination and unequal treatment that has left deep scars that may never go away. Yet we manage. We elected a black President — granted, his African heritage is Kenyan, not American slave, but the average American doesn’t make that distinction — and then we re-elected him. And broadly speaking, Americans of all races get along very well. Intermarriage is so common as to be unremarkable. People don’t give it a second thought. The area where I live is heavily African American, and aside from the crime statistics that are heavily skewed towards young black males, there are no problems. Could any other country have done this? I’m not so sure.

 

[Victoria33]

The respected Thomas Sowell:

Racism is not dead, but it is on life support – kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racists’

Thomas Sowell

 

[Phemie]

I had so many aunts and uncles who weren’t related to me that I didn’t even realize that some who were referred to as such actually WERE related to me. They were my great-aunts and uncles.

Fifteen years ago, I asked a young friend who had a baby if she would be OK with the child calling me “aunt” as I will never be anyone’s blood aunt. So now there are 6 children in that family who call me “aunt” and my hubby “uncle” even if we’re not related to them.

We never had close friends for my kids to address that way. I had them call adults Mr. & Mrs. unless they requested to be called by their given names. I remember I was upset when, as a 24 year old newlywed, we lived next door to a 15 year old who insisted on calling us Mr. & Mrs. even though we asked him not to.

Oh, I’m in Canada. I pronounce it like “haunt” with no “h”, which, since I’m French, is not that easy. It’s doable as long as I don’t have to use an h word in front of it. I have to read “happy aunt” very slowly or it comes out “appy haunt”.

 

[Phemie]

MikeInVA:

I didn’t, but my kids call one of our friends “Uncle Joe”.

Is he movin’ kinda slow…at the junction?

I got that immediately.

 

[lagerald24]

Lol, when are they gonna say that Cap’n Crunch promotes white supremacy, racism, and colonialism? I’d imagine soon, they’re going after Rice Krispies.

 

[Maximian]

Sorry but why would anyone take offense at a picture of a black woman? I would have thought it was racist to say it’s offensive.

 

[StudentMI]

I prefer my maple syrup to have images of stereotypical Yoopers or Canadians.

 

[blackforest]

Only in Internet virtue culture is calling out racism spun into an act of racism.

I’m more curious by why people are so offended by her removal from syrup bottles. Seriously.

For those of you who are entrenched in the but-that’s-not-racist camp, here’s some (non-breakfast) food for thought. Aunt Jemima pancake mix logo was based on Kentucky native Nancy Green

Nancy Green, a Civil War-era slave from Mount Sterling, was the inspiration for the first Aunt Jemima, the Black woman who has served as the face of the brand for more than 100 years.

 

[Maximian]

What differentiates Catholics from Protestants is that Catholics believe that the truth is objective, not subjective. Thus in Catholicism the question is not “Do I feel insulted?” But “Is this objectively insulting?”

If I take the former view, I am in fact imposing my ideas on other people. This is a form of harassment.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Sorry but why would anyone take offense at a picture of a black woman? I would have thought it was racist to say it’s offensive.

The picture, as it exists today, is fine — a beautiful, dignified black woman. It is the history behind the picture and the name. In times past, Aunt Jemima was a stereotypical “mammy” and was depicted as such, grotesquely so, if you go far enough back, and as noted above, “aunt” and “uncle” were used to refer to black people of a certain age, because they were not called “Mister” and “Mrs/Miss” by white people in the South. Mirabile dictu, George Wallace was actually considered fairly progressive for his time, because he would refer to black people as Mr/Mrs/Miss in court.

Whatever you call them, they are very good pancakes, if you like pancakes (and I do, ditto for waffles). I would much prefer maple syrup over the ersatz high fructose corn syrup that is usually found nowadays. I stay away from HFCS as much as I possibly can. It’s not good for you.

Here’s a thought — what about keeping the attractive picture that is used today (not the one below) and renaming the brand “Miss Green’s”? Nancy Green (the original “Aunt Jemima”) became an activist for civil rights and anti-poverty initiatives, surely an inspiring story if ever there were one. Perhaps a biographical blurb on the back of the box?

Nancy Green - Wikipedia

The portrait couldn’t be used, as it shows Miss Green wearing a kerchief — though there is nothing else wrong with the picture — and that wouldn’t be acceptable in today’s climate. But the story itself is an edifying one.

 

[blackforest]

What differentiates Catholics from Protestants is that Catholics believe that the truth is objective, not subjective.

This is not true. Not all Protestants are relativists.

Thus in Catholicism the question is not “Do I feel insulted?” But “Is this objectively insulting?”

It’s not black and white. Some things are relative, (e.g. favorite ice cream flavors and whether or not one feels insulted), and others objective. An object can’t be “objectively” insulting. Nothing can be insulting without somebody feeling insulted.

If I take the former view, I am in fact imposing my ideas on other people. This is a form of harassment.

Really? Is this an idea you’re imposing on me?

I can’t believe I even have to exert any keystrokes stating this, but nobody it harassing you by removing a black slave woman from a bottle of pancake syrup.

 

[Thorolfr]

And those who grew up in the UK might remember the golliwog label on Robertsons Jam - as a kid Ibused to save the lavels from the jam and send them off to get golliwog lapel pins.

I lived in England in 1968 when I was in the first grade and collected golliwog labels. I still have a few.

 

[Maximian]

Not all Protestants are relativists.

Oh, but they are. Protestantism is the very act of repudiating the absolute truth and substituting a subjective interpretation of it. This is why there are hundreds and hundreds of Protestant denominations. Even the most mainstream have adopted positions based on the subjective conclusions of individuals who are outside the Church.

 

[Maximian]

nobody it harassing you by removing a black slave woman from a bottle of pancake syrup.

Indirectly they are because they are forcing me to live in a world where pressure groups get to decide how I live my life.

 

[Victoria33]

“if you go back far enough”, yes, there one is on to something. So, for all products we buy at the grocery store, we should be concerned with how the product was, 130 years ago, before it was purchased by Quaker Oats around 1937. And by the way, I see that kerchief or bandana worn even in the present day to assign it necessarily a nefarious meaning.

Let’s see, the Vikings pillaged and vandalized and I guess, killed people 850 years ago, the Norsemen, so per this same logic, the Minnesota Vikings need to change their team name.

And truly, Denmark in the last 30 years or so, has apologized to the UK for a raid sonducted some centuries ago, maybe 900 years, so no, this is not an idle irrelevant example.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6947005.stm

Danes sorry for Viking invasion

 

[dconklin]

What about Mrs Buttersworth?