Aunt Jemima Original Pancake-Waffle Mix - 907g

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Another used for Bewitched featured Darren and his boss, Larry Tate, trying to come up with a slogan for Aunt Jemima syrup. Aunt Jemima is based on the common enslaved "Mammy" archetype, a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant. They all depicted the same image, that of a slave more than happy with her lot in life, and a cook of what later became known as comfort foods. That would mean Moodey had performed the Aunt Jemima role since 1876, longer than the product she pitched had existed at the time. She remained loyal to her former master after the war, continuing to prepare “ the best pancakes in the South“, attracting many visitors to his plantation.

Daina Ramey Berry, a professor of history at the University of Texas, said the decision to drop the name and the image of Aunt Jemima is significant because the brand normalized a racist depiction of Black women. Aunt Jemima became increasingly controversial, and personal appearances fell from their peak in the 1940s. The Aunt Jemima pancake mix makes great tasting, fluffy pancakes with ease; did you know it can also be used to make yummy waffles too!The demand for the pancake mix grew to the point that all of the Davis Mills capacity went to producing it.

Rigney and Company countered that Aunt Jemima Mills did not make syrup, so there was no infringement. Those considered most valuable bear the name, The Davis Milling Company, indicating they were produced before the name changed in 1914. The fictional stories of the “Happy South” and the racist imagery portrayed by Green as Aunt Jemima drew protests from civil rights leaders almost immediately. In 2015, a judge dismissed a lawsuit against the company by two men who claimed to be descendants of Anna Harrington, a Black woman who began portraying Jemima in the 1930s, saying the company hadn't properly compensated her estate with royalties.In 1933, a novel entitled Imitation of Life appeared, written by feminist and civil rights advocate Fannie Hurst. Uncle Ben’s Rice changed the appearance of its character from a butler to one of a Black man in his senior years wearing an open collar shirt. Following Green’s death at the age of 89 in 1923 and continuing until 1967, a series of Black women took on the Aunt Jemima role, appearing at fairs and other venues to promote the product line, which later expanded to include frozen waffles and syrup.