Beginning in 1889, the stereotypical image of Aunt Jemimawas affixed to the packaging of pancake mix made by The Quaker Oats company. The image was a fat Black woman wearing a scarf around her head, which some folks called a âmammy rag.â It was the image that many white people held of Black  women, who during slavery cooked, cleaned, and tended to the children of slaveowners.
The first model for Aunt Jemima was from the likeness of Lillian Richard, followed by Anna Short Harrington. When The Quaker Oats company began getting pressured to change the stereotypical image of Aunt Jemima over the past few decades, the company finally announced last June that it would no longer used the photo image of Aunt Jemima on any of its packaging. Instead, Quaker Oats companyâs brand of pancake mixes and syrups will now be known as Pearl Milling Company.