TOPLINE
Mars said Wednesday it would “evolve” the “visual brand” of its Uncle Ben’s rice, which features the likeness of a Black man, just hours after Quaker Oats announced the Aunt Jemima brand—long decried as a racist caricature—would be removed and replaced.
A bag of soon-to-be-evolved Uncle Ben’s rice.
Photo by EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
In a statement Wednesday, Mars said that after listening to voices of the Black community, along with their employees worldwide, “now is the right time” to change the Uncle Ben’s brand.
Mars said it does not know the exact changes it will make to Uncle Ben’s, or when they will roll out, but they are “evaluating all possibilities.”
Quaker Oats, parent company of the Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, announced Wednesday morning that the brand would be completely revamped with new packaging and acknowledged “Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.”
Social media users heavily speculated on Twitter Wednesday that Uncle Ben’s would be the next to change.
The name “Uncle Ben,” first used in 1946, was referencing a Black male rice farmer known by the same name, according to the rice company’s website, and the likeness “was a beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown.”
In 1971, the image of Uncle Ben was removed from packaging, according to the company’s website, but the image took “its rightful place on our packages again in 1983.”
News peg
The New York Times reported in 1997 that white Southerners would refer to a Black woman or man as “aunt” or “uncle,” in order to avoid using the honorifics “Mr.” or “Mrs.”
Key background
Businesses across every industry are undertaking new measures, policies and other plans of action to show their support for the Black community and that they are anti-racist. “We stand in solidarity with the Black community, our Associates and our partners in the fight for social justice,” said Mars in its Uncle Ben’s statement. Quaker Oats, in its announcement of the removal of the Aunt Jemima brand, said it would donate $5 million in support of the Black community. In February, Land O’Lakes quietly updated its packaging to remove the controversial Native American woman, but that was done before the killing of George Floyd that has rekindled calls for brands to change imagery long denounced as racist.
Further reading
Aunt Jemima—Long Denounced As A Racist Caricature—Removed By Quaker Oats (Forbes)
Uncle Ben, Board Chairman (New York Times)
Brands have something to say about racism. Why does it all look the same? (Fast Company)
Land O’Lakes Removes Native American Woman From Its Products (New York Times)
How To Call Out Brands For Lack Of Diversity (Even If It Costs You The Gig) (Forbes)