Update: Families of Aunt Jemima Actresses Push Back on Name Change
After Quaker announced that it will be changing the name and imagery of Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, the families of former Aunt Jemima ambassadors are speaking out.
Larnell Evans Sr., 66, is the great-grandson of Anna Short Harrington, who portrayed Aunt Jemima from 1935 to 1954, and he believes Quaker is trying to erase his grandmother's history. He told Patch.com, "This is part of my history, sir. The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side — white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother's history. A Black female... It hurts."
Evans added, "This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job. How do you think I feel as a Black man sitting here telling you about my family history they're trying to erase?"
Vera Harris, family historian and great-niece to Lillian Richard, who became an ambassador of Aunt Jemima around the same time as Harrington, feels the same time as Evans. Harris stated, "We just don't want my aunt's legacy -- what she did making an honest living at the time -- to be wiped away. Her story should not be erased from history."
https://www.vladtv.com/article/263429/update-families-of-aunt-jemima-actresses-push-back-on-name-change?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Daily-2020-06-25
