A Portrait of Nancy Green
If
you ask most people who Aunt Jemima is, most likely the reply will be a pancake
mix and syrup. While this is true, it is also a generalization as the story of
the original Aunt Jemima is pure Americana.
The
Aunt Jemima pancake story began in the 1880’s when newspaper man Chris Rutt and
a friend named Charles Underwood bought the
Pearl Milling Company and had the idea of developing and marketing a ready-mixed
and self-rising pancake flour. The name “Aunt Jemima” was inspired by a
vaudeville show that Rutt attended where he heard a song of the same name sung
by a minstrel performer in blackface wearing an apron and a bandana. The
product was met with favorable results and in 1890 the two men decided to
expand the marketing of their product by employing a woman to personify the
fictional Aunt Jemima.
Nancy Green
was 56 years old when she was hired by Rutt and Underwood to bring Aunt Jemima
to life. She was known for her excellent cooking and for her warm, approachable
manner. She began promoting the pancake mix at shows around the Midwest. Her
rapport with her audience was a rousing success. In 1893 the popularity of both
the product and Green was so great that the rechristened Davis Milling Company
began an aggressive campaign to increase sales. They took Green and Aunt Jemima
to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago where she prepared pancakes
before thousands in character as Aunt Jemima. Her appeal was such a crowd
pleaser that special policemen were utilized to keep the masses moving through
her booth. More than fifty thousand units of Aunt Jemima pancake mix were sold.
Nancy Green was such a success at the Expo that she was awarded a medal by its
organizers and Davis Milling offered her a lifetime contract.
This amazing
success belonged to a woman who was one of the first groundbreaking
African-American women in history.
Nancy Green
was born a slave on March 4, 1834 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Not a lot is
known about her early life. Following the Civil War and her emancipation in
1865, she moved north and worked as a cook and a housekeeper. She was married
to a man named Hiram Green. The couple had two children who predeceased her and she was
widowed by the time of her employment in 1890 by Davis Milling.
With her
sudden popularity in middle age, Green became one of the first African-American
spokespersons and her portrayal of Aunt Jemima made her a living trademark. She
became famous on a national scale and used her notoriety to expand her career.
She was soon travelling as a storyteller along with her work as Aunt Jemima.
Her shows were almost always sold out events and her warm persona gave her an
enduring following with audiences everywhere she went.
Nancy used
her fame as well as the money she made from her work to bring attention to the
plight of African-Americans struggling in poverty to survive in the years
following the Civil War. She became one of the first black philanthropists and
her efforts to improve the quality of life of her contemporaries would help lay
the foundation for generations which followed her in what would become the
Civil Rights Movement.
Nancy Green
died at age 89 on September 23, 1923 from injuries sustained in an automobile
accident in Chicago. She was still performing as Aunt Jemima right up until the
end.
In the decades
following her death, the Aunt Jemima character would be recast and portrayed by
a variety of actresses. The logo would change as well but the warmth of the
character would not be lost. Even in the sixties, when the Aunt Jemima
characterization became reviled by civil rights activists in much the same
manner as Uncle Tom, the smiling face and inviting demeanor of the trademark
would not be tarnished.
The legacy
Nancy Green left for those who’ve followed her is one of courage, talent, and
the indomitable strength of the human spirit. The success this woman achieved
remains enviable. That this impressive distinction belongs to a woman who was
born into slavery, worked her way through life in the bleak years for
African-Americans that succeeded the Civil War, and culminated in one of the
first celebrity statuses attained by a black woman is inspiring. Her name is
inscribed in the annals of American history with dignity and with pride in what
one person can accomplish no matter what odds they face.
Nancy Green
is a legend. And rightfully so.
Carey
Parrish
4 Comments:
Excellent post. Its information I may never need to know but am so glad to have learned. Thanks!
Excellent post. Its information I may never need to know but am so glad to have learned. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!
What an amazing woman!!! Thank you, so much, for this story.
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