The most controvesial meal of the day.

My friends, the time has come to say goodbye to an icon who has graced our breakfast tables for more than a century. She's been with us through good times and very, very bad. And, despite undergoing several makeovers to reflect cultural changes in our society, her very existence is no longer acceptable to modern America. Let us bid her a fond farewell, respectful of her many years of thankless service:

Now, I'll be the first to admit that Aunt Jemima has a disgusting racist history. The character herself was developed from a tasteless (no pun intended) minstrel show, and the original images from early 1900's are ugly stereotypes. Google them, if you must. I won't post them on my website, that's how bad they are. Even as a child, I remember Aunt Jemima's visage quietly being transformed from a kerchif donning "mammy" to an elegant businesswoman. But we live in strange times, where history must be judged through the lens of modern sensibilities, and so the pancake matriarch must retire her spatula. And I think that's a good thing. A higher level of awareness about things that make us uncomfortable is good for us as a society. Some people might think its an overreaction, but that's hard to tell in the moment. Forty years from now, people might look at Aunt Jemima and say, "What took them so long to get rid of that?"

This got me thinking, "Who's next?" Are any breakfast mascots about to follow Aunt Jemima out the door?

Consider this one. I'll be honest. As I child, I preferred Mrs. Butterworth's brand. But did you know that the model for the Mrs. Butterworh's bottle was none other than celebrated actress Thelma McQueen, who is most famous for her role of Prissy in "Gone With the Wind"? Since the movie has recently been banned from HBO's streaming apps, is dear Mrs. Butterworh's far behind?

While we're cancelling gross ethnic icons, I mean, this guy's got to go, too, right? Lucky the Leprechaun shares a lot of the same characteristics: he's a racist stereotype who speaks in a dialect. I mean, he's not as bad as the Notre Dame logo, but still.

The "Cookie Crook" being chased by an angry police officer? In 2020? I DON'T THINK SO!

Corn Pops used to be represented by this guy, who didn't even have a name. They just called him, "Big Yellow Cowboy". I mean, the 10 gallon hat and big ol' sideburns are a little unsettling, to say the least. And while we're looking at Corn Pops:

Look closely at this box. Notice that the Janitor Corn Pop is darker in tone than all the rest?

I don't know if anyone remembers "Big Otis," the terrifying scotsman from Kellog's OK's cereal, but he would most definitely be unwelcome on a modern breakfast table. Ironically, the Brawny brand lumberjack is still acceptable as is Scotch tape. I mean, it's hard to get more racist than calling a cheap cellophane tape "scotch", right?

On the surface, you might think this image is just as unacceptable as Aunt Jemima. But did you know that this is actually a portrait of Frank L. White, a famous chef who emigrated to America from Barbados, and was a spokesperson for Cream of Wheat for more than forty years? That being said, is the general public educated enough to accept this, or must he also be eliminated?

And finally, keep in mind that the Aunt Jemima brand is owned by Quaker Oats company:

Quakers were persecuted, often violiently, throughout history. Is this an acceptable image, given this knowledge?

I don't perceive to have the answers to any of these questions. But it is food for thought (ok, pun intended, this time). I would say that part of the problem with breakfast icons that have racist undertones is that they're meant to appeal to children, who might be the most sensitive among us to this kind of subtle conditioning. So maybe it's a good thing that we move forward with more acceptable images. Stick to cartoon rabbits and birds, and maybe put a little less sugar in the stuff, and we'll all be better off. And someday, far in the future, when we've moved on from breakfast to the painful images associated with dinner, I'm ready to discuss mascots like this:

Mama Mia!