No, Aunt Jemima Won’t Become ‘Sheila’ Who Enjoys Making Pancakes Sometimes
Let's get something out of the way immediately: I LAUGHED OUT LOUD when I first read about this story. I'm not referring to the rebranding of Aunt Jemima, but instead her possible "replacement" in the rebranding of the breakfast brand; Sheila.
Seriously? It turns out that the satirical newspaper known in Texas as The Onion was on to something hours before the announcement came from the Quaker/Pepsi Co. team regarding the change. The Onion took to Twitter to break the news. Check it out:
Of course the Twitter audience had a field day with it!
The Onion gave some background on the fictional Sheila saying in a published article that she's "an African American woman who wears a suit, carries a briefcase, and isn’t an aunt per se, though she is godmother to the child of a dear friend she met as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College."
In all seriousness, Aunt Jemima will be replaced in stores across the country after 131 years. Quaker Oats made the announcement this week.
"We recognize Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype," Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a statement. "As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations."