In the wake of the protests following the killing of George Floyd and many other Black Americans by police, several brands that produce items Americans buy and use every day are facing a long-overdue reckoning.
Richard J. Reddick is an associate dean and associate professor of educational leadership and policy at The University of Texas at Austin, where he also holds courtesy appointments in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis, and the Warfield Center for African and African American Studies. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.
In the wake of the protests following the killing of George Floyd and many other Black Americans by police, several brands that produce items Americans buy and use every day are facing a long-overdue reckoning.
Quaker Oats (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) decided to retire Aunt Jemima because of its racist origin. Conagra and Mars said they’re reviewing or changing the Mrs. Butterworth’s and Uncle Ben’s logos (which are both Black and depict racial stereotypes), respectively. And Cream of Wheat has now said, it too, is reevaluating its imagery.
While the current sociopolitical context explains many of these actions, these changes might have come earlier if perspectives representing Black, indigenous, and other people of color were embodied and integrated into these corporations. In order for these changes to truly indicate a pivot toward equity and inclusion, they must be coupled with changes in leadership and in the boardroom.
Racist logos and labels are nothing new—they’re a vestige of homogeneous, monocultural business leadership. Amazingly, in 2020, only four Fortune 500 companies have a Black CEO, and, as of last year, more than a third of S&P 500 companies have no Black board members. But these changes are about more than just packaging. They represent the need for diverse and inclusive leadership in corporate America, and they serve as examples for other corporations that might need to look inward at their own history. By doing so, these companies are showing what needs to be done in order to work toward more inclusive and respectful depictions in products and leadership.
Earlier this year, we saw a similar wave of actions regarding depictions of Native Americans. Universities, sports team and businesses sought to remove age-old Native American images and depictions from their branding and logos.
