Aunt Jemima, the truth
May. 1st, 2024 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chris_gerribI occasionally see conservatives bemoan the loss of "strong minority icons" such as Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben from American foods. I find this historically illiterate.
First, "Aunt Jemima." Originally she was a painting of nobody. The name came from a minstrel show and the character was that fictional concept, the "happy slave." Then, in 1893, Nancy Green, a housekeeper in the employ of the Walker family in St. Joseph, Missouri, was hired to portray the character. She was an actor, got paid a minimal amount of money, and was fired in 1900. The company brought in another "negress" to portray the role. Nancy Green then got another housekeeping job and died penniless in Chicago in 1923. There's nothing strong in this story - rather somebody getting screwed over by a large corporation.
Second, "Uncle Ben." There never was an "Uncle Ben" and the character didn't appear until 1946. The face on the box was based on Frank Brown, a man who worked in a Chicago hotel. Again, pure fiction and exploitation.
First, "Aunt Jemima." Originally she was a painting of nobody. The name came from a minstrel show and the character was that fictional concept, the "happy slave." Then, in 1893, Nancy Green, a housekeeper in the employ of the Walker family in St. Joseph, Missouri, was hired to portray the character. She was an actor, got paid a minimal amount of money, and was fired in 1900. The company brought in another "negress" to portray the role. Nancy Green then got another housekeeping job and died penniless in Chicago in 1923. There's nothing strong in this story - rather somebody getting screwed over by a large corporation.
Second, "Uncle Ben." There never was an "Uncle Ben" and the character didn't appear until 1946. The face on the box was based on Frank Brown, a man who worked in a Chicago hotel. Again, pure fiction and exploitation.
