Uncle Ben’s Unveil New Name and Logo After Changing Branding Due To Blacklash

And the most recent one is Uncle Ben’s Rice.

Since the death of George Floyd, protests for the movement have been happening across the globe in volumes we’ve never seen before.

But George’s death has sparked an outrage like never before.

And they are all marching for one thing: For the blatant racism and injustice in this country to be brought to an end.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking to the streets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

And people are continuing to demand justice. But some horrifying things have been emerging from our country’s past…

Including Walt Disney World and Kellogg’s cereal.

The Aunt Jemima brand.

And the company was the first-ever to create the instant pancake mix back in 1889. In 1926, Aunt Jemima was bought by Quaker’s Oats, and this gave the company huge success with their products which expanded from pancake mixes to syrups.

Until now, that is. People have been calling out the brand for being inspired by a very racist story.

The video, that was originally posted to TikTok, was captioned “How to make a non-racist breakfast” and it starts by Kirby opening her fridge and taking out an Aunt Jemima box.

“Did you know the name of Aunt Jemima means ‘slave men’ of the plantation south?” she asks boldly.

“Did you know the founder Chris Rutt, a white man, got the name after attending a minstrel show – think blackface.”

“Did you also know he hired former-slave Nancy Green… who would go around cooking pancakes and telling people about the ‘good old south’.”

And it seems that a lot of people agree with her opinion on Aunt Jemima.

And Aunt Jemima has been branded as “harmful” and “full of errors.”

Why has Aunt Jemima only just been called out for racism now? Its products have always had the same branding which clearly shows racist ideologies.

How has it taken us this long to realize how wrong this is?

Quaker Oats quickly announced that after over 130 years, they will be removing Aunt Jemima from all packaging and they will be giving the product a much-needed rebrand.

“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 press release. “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.”

Quaker said the new packaging will begin to appear in the fall of 2020, and a new name for the foods will be announced at a later date.

Many began calling out other companies who have been using black stereotypes for years to promote their brands.

The rice brand has been around since the 1940s and it has cemented itself as one of the most popular here in America, as well as in the United Kingdom.

Frank Brown, a maître d’hôtel at a Chicago restaurant, agreed to pose as the face of Uncle Ben for the painting which became the company’s logo.

And it seems that they’ve finally done just that.

And its parent company Mars has said it’ll be making changes to the brand including its “visual brand identity.”

Many people praised the company for choosing to rebrand and they have demanded that the real Uncle Ben receives more credit.

Many have questioned the decision to remove Uncle Ben’s face from the brand and they are wondering if it will be sending the wrong message about the representation of black people.

Is for the brand to hire more people from the black community and to include more diversity within their workforce.

Weeks after vowing to make a change, the brand’s new chapter has officially begun.

It’s not too much of a change…

Uncle Ben’s will now be known as “Ben’s Original.”

We listened to our associates and our customers and the time is right to make meaningful changes across society,” said Fiona Dawson, Global President for Mars Food, multisales, and global customers.

“When you are making these changes, you are not going to please everyone. But it’s about doing the right thing, not the easy thing.”

Opinions have been left divided following the reveal.

For more like this, keep scrolling to read about the backlash Lady Antebellum received after they changed their name because of slavery ties…