Pearl Milling Company (historically known as Aunt Jemima) is a brand of pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast foods. The pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and advertised as the first ready-mix. The Aunt Jemima character, developed by Chris L. Rutt and Charles G. Underwood for their ready-made pancake flour mix at the Pearl Milling Company is "likely based on the enslaved "Mammy" archetype. The "Aunt Jemima Doctrine" in US trademark law originates in a 1915 case between the pancake mix company and an unrelated seller of pancake syrup. The brand has been owned by the Quaker Oats Company since 1926.
Nancy Green portrayed Aunt Jemima at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, one of the first Black corporate models in the United States. Subsequent advertising agencies hired dozens of actors to perform the role as the first organized sales promotion campaign.
Since its debut, the character of Aunt Jemima has been criticized as an example of exploited Black women. "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used as a female version of the derogatory epithet "Uncle Tom" or "Rastus". In June 2020, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand would be retired "to make progress toward racial equality". They subsequently announced in February 2021 that the line will be re-branded in June 2021 as Pearl Milling Company after the original owners of the pancake mix.
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