Aunt Jemima finally has a new name
(KYMA, KECY/CNN) - Quaker Oats is releasing a new name and logo for its "Aunt Jemima" products, finally retiring the racist stereotype that has adorned its pancake mixes and syrups for decades.
The name "Aunt Jemima," long criticized as a racist caricature of a Black woman stemming from slavery, will be replaced with the Pearl Milling Company name and logo on the former brand's new packaging, according to parent company PepsiCo.
"We are starting a new day with Pearl Milling Company," a PepsiCo spokesperson said. "A new day rooted in the brand's historic beginnings and its mission to create moments that matter at the breakfast table."
PepsiCo attorneys purchased brand name and logo trademarks for Pearl Milling Company on February 1. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Perrott, PLLC in Washington DC spotted the filing Monday morning.
The new brand is scheduled to launch in June, one year after the company announced the change. Aunt Jemima was one of several food brands — including Uncle Ben's, Cream of Wheat and Mrs. Butterworth's — to announce redesigns as protests against systemic racism erupted across the United States this past summer.
