Aunt Jemima announces change to brand image & name based on "racial stereotype"

Quaker Oats announced Wednesday that the Aunt Jemima brand of maple syrup and pancake mix will receive a new name and brand image.

The company's decision is due to the Aunt Jemima name and brand being "based on a racial stereotype."

The 130-year-old brand depicts a Black woman named Aunt Jemima. The image of the woman has shifted over time, but was originally dressed as a minstrel character. In recent years, Quakers removed the "mammy" kerchief from the character. 

Quaker, which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo, said removing the Jemima name and character is part of the company's effort "to make progress toward racial equality."

"It is urgent to expunge our public spaces of a lot of these symbols that for some people are triggering and represent terror and abuse," said Riché Richardson, as associate professor at Cornell University on the TODAY show. 

According to the company, Aunt Jemima was "brought to life" by Nancy Green, a freed Black woman who became the face of the brand in 1890. 

Quaker says the brand packaging will be available in fall of 2020.