“This business makes money off depictions of our slavery. They’ve decided to do this by erasing the past of my great-grandmother. A black woman. It hurts.”
Nancy Green, a former slave, debuted the first “Aunt Jemima” in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. Cook Green was employed on the city’s South Side. She was paid to serve pancakes to fairgoers while donning an apron and a headscarf.
Her portrayal of “Aunt Jemima” lasted until her passing in 1923. Evans claimed that Anna Short Harrington, his grandmother, took over after that.
Uses for Quaker Foods Likeness of Anna Short Harrington
Members of the fraternities at Syracuse University, where Harrington worked as a chef, praised her pancakes. During the 1935 New York State Fair, she distributed homemade pancakes when a Quaker Foods employee came across her.
She was employed by Quaker Foods right once, and the company utilized her image in advertisements and on products. Harrington was also sent all across the country to serve pancakes while dressed as “Aunt Jemima,” turning her become a household name.
She spent 20 years working for the Quaker Oats company. As Aunt Jemima, she made pancakes for people all over the United States and Canada, according to Evans.
