arrow grid linear view icon
Jump to main navigation Jump to main content
The College of Arts Sciences
Cornell University Africana Studies & Research Center
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Program
    • Graduate Program
      • Graduate Thesis Archive
    • Courses
  • People
    • Faculty
    • Emeritus Faculty
    • Graduate Field Faculty
    • Current Grad Students
    • Ph.D. Alumni
  • Research
    • Faculty Publications
    • Ph.D. Student Publications
  • Lectures
  • The Center
    • Visitor Information
    • Virtual Tour
    • John Henrik Clarke Africana Library
    • Support ASRC
  • About
    • Department Staff & Contacts
    • History of Africana Studies at Cornell
    • Newsletter Archive
  • Alumni
Africana Studies & Research Center

15 Popular Brand Logos That May Soon Disappear

  • Share this story on Facebook
  • Share this story on Twitter

By: Juliana LaBianca,  Reader's Digest
October 8, 2020

...The thought of Aunt Jemima might bring up sweet memories from your childhood, but the branding is actually based on a harmful racial stereotype. According to Riché Richardson, an associate professor in the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, the logo is based on the idea of the “mammy,” a “devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her White master and mistress while neglecting her own.” Plantation myth portrayed the mammy as an “asexual, plump black woman wearing a headscarf,” Richardson wrote for the New York Times. After years of criticism, Quaker Oats, the company that owns the Aunt Jemima brand, recently announced it would remove the 130-year-old logo from its packaging in late 2020 and rename the brand at a later date. Changing offensive brand names is one of the 24 positive changes we’ve seen since the anti-racism movement began.

Read the entire article in Reader's Digest https://www.rd.com/list/popular-brand-logos-that-may-soon-disappear/

Professor Riche Richardson

Other News

View News
John Lewis

Remembering and Honoring John Lewis, Champion of Voting Rights

Learn More

Tattered American flag that is green were it is normally blue

Statement on Recent Incidents of Anti-Black Terror and Police Brutality in the USA

Learn More

Professor Naminata Diabate with her book naked agency

Naminata Diabate on her book, Naked Agency

Learn More

Professor Carole Boyce Davies

A People’s Anthology

Learn More

Become an Africana Studies Major
Apply to A&S
​
​
Stay in touch
Sign up for Africana e-news
​
​
Support the Program
Give to Africana Studies
​
The College of Arts & Sciences
  • Academics
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • The Center
  • About Us
Feedback Facebook Twitter 310 Triphammer Road, Ithaca, New York 14853607-255-4625 • africana@cornell.edu

©2021 Cornell University

If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format
contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance.