Fact Check: Did Woman Known as Aunt Jemima Amass Millions Before Her Death?

A claim has been spreading stating that the portrayer of the character Aunt Jemima, Nancy Green, earned millions for pretending to be the fictional woman the brand shows.

The Quaker Oats Company, in June 2020, announced that it would be changing the brand of its classic Aunt Jemima product line-up. The list includes syrup, pancake mix, and other breakfast treats and delicacies.

History of racial stereotyping

According to Snopes, the company stated the decision was chosen as the origins of the brand had a racist history. Kristin Kroepfl, Quaker Foods North America's vice president and chief marketing officer, told NBC News about the decision.

The decision, however, caused several users to share their criticisms of the company and accused it of tampering with history and ignoring the importance of what Nancy Green accomplished.

The social media posts also claimed that Green was among the first African-American millionaire with the money she earned depicting Aunt Jemima.

But in fact, Green never amassed a large sum of money as she did not earn enough from her portrayal of Aunt Jemima to support her living expenses and had to work as a housekeeper until her death.

A curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum, Kevin Strait, said the decision to re-brand Aunt Jemima products came amid the ongoing protests for the justice of African-American citizens, as reported by Smithsonian Mag.

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Green was a cook and former slave born in 1834 in the state of Kentucky. R.T. Davis, the owner of the milling company that bought the company from the original founder of Aunt Jemima, chose Green to portray the character of the brand.

Later on, Anna S. Harrington, a cook and former sharecropper, started to portray Aunt Jemima in 1935. The curator of history at the Onondaga Historical Association, Robert Searcing said in a conversation with Conor Wight of CNY Central that Harrington became an instant national celebrity, getting flights across the country to market Quaker Oats and give demonstrations.

Fox29 reports the "Mammy" stereotype has a long history in racism and shows a black woman slave happily serving her white masters. Ferris University noted that portraits of mammies had benefits for the economy and social interests of white America. The depictions also supported the idea of slavery as a just institution.

Debunking the claim

The claim that Green died a millionaire has no supportive evidence to be considered a fact, contrary to what social media posts state. Green wrote her occupation as being a cook in 1900, where Snopes cited "Cling to Mammy: The Faithful Slave in Twentieth-Century America" by Micki McElya. As Green's answer to the question could refer to her portrayal of Aunt Jemima, she was found to be working as a housekeeper in 1910.

Author of "Slave in A Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima," M.M. Manring, noted that the available evidence pointed towards the fact that Green never amassed a vast amount of wealth for her portrayal.

Although Manring said that the claim that Green was given a lifetime contract to become Aunt Jemima had no supporting evidence to reveal that it actually happened to Green.