Quaker Oats is retiring the 131-year-old Aunt Jemima brand, saying the company recognizes the characterB次元官网网址檚 origins are B次元官网网址渂ased on a racial stereotype.B次元官网网址�

Just hours later, the owner of the Uncle BenB次元官网网址檚 brand of rice says the brand will B次元官网网址渆volveB次元官网网址� in response to concerns about racial stereotyping.

Quaker, which is owned by PepsiCo, said itB次元官网网址檚 overhauled pancake mix and syrup will hit shelves by the fourth quarter of 2020. The company will announce the new name at a later date.

B次元官网网址淲e recognize Aunt JemimaB次元官网网址檚 origins are based on a racial stereotype,B次元官网网址� said Kristin Kroepfl of Quaker Foods North America. B次元官网网址淲hile 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.B次元官网网址�

The Aunt Jemima image has evolved over the years to meet socially acceptable standards of the times, but the brand could not shake its history of racial stereotypes and connections to slavery. By 1989, Aunt Jemima had lost weight, abandoned her kerchief and looked more like a typical modern housewife. But the image and brand tweaks over the years were apparently not enough.

B次元官网网址淭he reputation of that brand, now more than 130 years old, was built on a racial and cultural stereotype that is widely regarded as offensive,B次元官网网址� said James OB次元官网网址橰ourke, professor of management at the University of Notre DameB次元官网网址檚 Mendoza College of Business. B次元官网网址淏rand managers have been aware of that for years and have tried, largely through incremental updates to the characterB次元官网网址檚 image on the packaging, to modernize how she is seen. The headscarf is gone, theyB次元官网网址檝e added a lace collar, pearl earrings. But the effect, because of the name, is the same.B次元官网网址�

PepsiCo also announced a five-year, $400 million initiative B次元官网网址渢o lift up black communities and increase black representation at PepsiCo.B次元官网网址�

Caroline Sherman, a spokeswoman for Mars, which owns Uncle BenB次元官网网址檚, says the company is listening to the voices of consumers, especially in the black community, and recognizes that now is the right time to evolve the brand, including its visual identity.

In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, activists and consumers have demanded that companies take a stand against racial injustice or lose their business. The singer Kirby posted a TikTok video called B次元官网网址淗ow to Make a Non Racist BreakfastB次元官网网址� explaining some of the backstory of the Aunt Jemima brand. That video went viral.

Land OB次元官网网址橪akes announced earlier this year that it would no longer use the Native American woman who had graced its packages of butter, cheese and other products since the late 1920s.

Matt Ott, The Associated Press

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