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Pearl Milling Company: Aunt Jemima trolled over new name, Internet says woke White women were 'pissed' about it

'The actual aunt Jemima was a freed slave who sold her breakfast recipes to Quaker oats co. to the tune of several million dollars'

Quaker Oats announced on Tuesday, January 9, that its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup will be renamed Pearl Milling Company. Aunt Jemima products will continue to be sold until June 2021 when the packaging will officially change.

PepsiCo Inc.'s Quaker Oats stated in June 2020 that it would do away with the Aunt Jemima brand, saying the character’s origins are “based on a racial stereotype". The smiling Aunt Jemima logo was inspired by the 19th century “mammy” minstrel character, a Black woman serving her White masters. A former slave, Nancy Green, became the first face of the pancake products in 1890. Aunt Jemima got launched in 1925 and the logo got updated over the years in an effort to remove the negative stereotypes. But last summer when Black Lives Matter protests were in full swing, the brand decided to change the name altogether.

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The company said that the Pearl Milling Company was established in 1888 in St Joseph, Missouri, and was the first to come up with self-rising pancake mix. Even though the pancake brand's name is changing, the packaging will be familiar to the old Aunt Jemima's red box. Quaker also said that the organization will donate $1M to groups that empower Black women and girls as part of the Pearl Milling Company rollout.

As soon as the news made its way to social media, people started talking about it. Social Media personality Kemmstar tweeted, "Aunt Jemima Maple Syrup new logo & name! RACISM JUST ENDED!" While one person slammed the act and wrote, "What people failed to realize is that it isnt a stereotype. The actual aunt Jemima was a freed slave who sold her breakfast recipes to Quaker oats co. to the tune of several million dollars. Great job, you're erasing black history just because you believe her character was racist."

Another one questioned: "Tell me again how Aunt Jemima maple syrup triggers racism? Even her descendants are proud of her for her work and that she was on that product." While another one stated, "Let me tell you something aunt Jemima was a millionare and fought for civil rights so in a right direction you're racist."

While another one explained, "Aunt Jemima's rebrand only pretends to address racism. Nobody became a racist because they saw a bottle of syrup. It's just another half-hearted social gesture by PepsiCo - but hey, at least a white lady didn't hand the bottle to a cop to end racism this time." While another one had a message for the brand, saying "Aunt Jemima was a legend. Pearl Milling Company? You go woke and become a joke. Never will I buy this wannabe knock-off of the legend. You just lost a life long customer. @pearl." While another one trolled, "Woke white women were the only ones pissed about it."