Black History

As U.S. Reckons With Racial Justice, Name Changes Planned for Uncle Ben’s Rice, Aunt Jemima Pancakes

Published

5 years ago

June 18, 2020

Food producers using images of Black people in their branding decided to change those images on Wednesday.

Hours after PepsiCo announced that it would retire the name and logo of its Aunt Jemima pancake syrup and mix brand, acknowledging that it was based on a racial stereotype, Mars, Inc., the parent company for Uncle Ben’s rice, said it was “evolving” its visual identity in an effort to address racial bias and injustices.

Uncle Ben’s logo features an image of a Black rice grower and Aunt Jemima features a Black woman. Both characters have long been criticized as racist. Aunt Jemima began 130 years ago as a kerchiefed Black woman. The Uncle Ben character first appeared in the early 1940s. The title appears to reflect how “white Southerners once used ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’ as honorifics for older Blacks because they refused to say ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.,’” according to The New York Times.

Toward the end of 2020, the 130-year-old pancake and syrup brand will remove the image of “Aunt Jemima” from packaging, parent companies Quaker Foods and PepsiCo said Wednesday. The name change will follow.

“We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,” Kristin Kroepfl, chief marketing officer at Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement. “While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”

A Mars, Inc., representative expressed parallel sentiments. “As a global brand, we know we have a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices,” a statement to HuffPost read.

The statement continued: “As we listen to the voices of consumers, especially in the Black community, and to the voices of our Associates worldwide, we recognize that one way we can do this is by evolving the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity.”

The exact changes and timing are still being decided, but “all possibilities” are being evaluated, the representative said.

HuffPost, National Public Radio and Adweek contributed to this report.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025

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2 weeks ago

November 28, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025

Published

3 weeks ago

November 24, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94

Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.

Published

3 weeks ago

November 20, 2025

Oakland Post

William "Bill" Patterson, 94. Photo courtesy of the Patterson family.

William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.

He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.

He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.

Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.

Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.

Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.

He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.

A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.

His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.