Sure, but you know that saying the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now?
The best time to retire racist branding is the instant someone comes up with it, the second best time is now. Doesn’t have the same ring to it, but it does have the same truth.
Could be. Or could be “wow, if Nascar can ban the confederate flag and not go bankrupt, maybe we can change a syrup bottle?”
I mean it is possible they were not so much racists as gutless before?
Fort Hood? That one’s easy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hood_(naval_officer)
Alternately, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hood would be pretty badass
I never thought of Mrs Buttersworth as black. The commercials I remember from too long ago always sounded to me like somebody’s kindly old granny, maybe with a touch of British in her background.
I, too, always thought Mrs. Butterworth was white. Go figure.
Then you probably don’t want to fill a bottle with some vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
Which we did.
“Dammit what did you kids do with my good vinegar*?!” *(by which Mom meant, “the vinegar.” It’s not like we shopped at Zabar’s.)
Gosh, as long as we’re revisiting socially obsolete corporate logos, do you think this one has earned its retirement yet?
Yeah! I always thought she was Mrs Doudtfire’s sister. I’m glad Mrs Doudtfire had nothing to hide, what a gal!
Same. I mean, obviously Aunt Jemima was problematic from the start but I thought Mrs. Butterworth was basically race-neutral and only appears dark because her contents are on display like the Honey Bear.
Yeah, I knew about that last one, but back in the day there were hundreds of 'em.
Wait a minute are you suggesting Frederick Douglas Converted Rice? Sojourner Truth Syrup?
They have those on trucks around here. I’m always astonished that no one objects. A bucket labeled SWP covering the world in red?
With damn maple syrup, like nature intended! 
oh yeah, i remember them. they were Denny’s before Denny’s was cool. the most interesting thing to me out of this recent story was learning that the name did NOT come from the “Little Black Sambo” story, but was a mashup of the two owner’s names. unfortunately for them, it just also happened to have the racist connotation, and i’m glad they are changing it (it’s about damn time, jesus), but i had just always assumed it came from the story.
Go on, tell the rest of it. Did Mrs Butterworth explode, or did she talk you out of it?
You certainly can make a paste with wheat and water. Cream of wheat is basically a chunky version. Which makes me confused why my brother was all about that stuff for a couple years.
Because you have an easy recognisable product.
You have to compete with dozens and dozen of other similar products on the supermarket shelf.
If I like the good rice, I buy it wholesale from a local rice factory. The one with the weird logo.
That’s the Socialist Worker’s Party yeah? They wouldn’t turn the world red so much as cover it in their newspapers .
Well, they leaned into it by using “The Story of Little Black Sambo” in their branding materials.
She blew her top
(Which is exactly how we described it 39, 40 years ago)
yeah, for sure. i bet at the time they thought it was just a fortunate thing, and super clever for them to do it.
