Aunt Jemima

February 16, 2023

“Nancy Green (1834-1923), a former slave from Mt. Sterling, KY,
moved to Chicago after the Civil War,
where she went on to become one of the first African American models
employed by an American company to promote a product.”
~ appalachianhistory.net ~

~ the first person to portray the character Aunt Jemima
~ in 1889, the concept and backstory had already been carefully scripted by Charles Rutt and Chris Underwood, founders of the Pearl Milling Company
~ they created America’s first ready-mixed pancake flour, and a year later registered the Aunt Jemima trademark and renamed the company the Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Company
~ in 1893 they sold the Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Company to the R.T. Davis Milling Company
~ Nancy Green first appeared to the public in 1893
~ she had been working as a domestic for the Walker family before trying out for the part of Aunt Jemima
(the children of the Walker family grew up to be Chicago Circuit Judges, Charles M. Walker and Dr. Samuel Walker)
~ Her Aunt Jemima was a hit at the Columbian Exhibition, aka the Chicago World’s Fair
~ according to her bio, special policemen were hired to keep the crowd’s moving along at the exhibition
~ the milling company proclaimed her the ‘pancake queen’ and her to a lifetime contract

the real Nacy Green:
~ was one of the first African American missionary workers, and an organizer of the Olivet Baptist Church, one of the largest (9,000+ members) African American churches in Chicago
~ she used her stature as a spokeswoman to advocate for antipoverty issues and equal rights in Chicago
~ Nancy Green: the first ‘Aunt Jemima’

Born: March 4, 1834, Kentucky, U.S.
Died: August 30, 1923, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation: Nanny, cook, model

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