Cream of Wheat to Drop Black Chef From Packaging, Company Says

[brooklynite]

New York Times

The Black chef will no longer appear on Cream of Wheat packaging where he was the face of the brand for more than a century, the product’s parent company announced in a decision that comes three months after it vowed to re-evaluate its marketing to ensure it did not “inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.”

“For years, the image of an African-American chef appeared on our Cream of Wheat packaging,” the company, B&G Foods, said on Thursday. Although research suggests the image may be based on an actual chef from Chicago, “it reminds some consumers of earlier depictions they find offensive,” the company said.

It is not immediately clear when the change will take effect.

Cream of Wheat, which depicts a smiling Black man in a white uniform worn by chefs, has not changed much since its debut in the late 19th century. The character was named “Rastus,” a pejorative term for Black men, and he was once depicted as a barely literate cook who did not know what vitamins were.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Can't wait...

for someone to condemn this move...because nostalgia.

[brewens]

2. Wait for the poutrage from the morans. We don't insist they sell products still depicting

50's and 60's housewives' like we used to see constantly.

I coincidentally just had cream of wheat with peanut butter and dried cranberries. Pretty good stuff.

[eShirl]

3. I liked him but never knew what he was based on.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. "may be based on an actual chef from Chicago" ... well, find out, and print his bio on the box ! :)

(Of course, maybe they already tried ... )

[Sneederbunk]

5. Brer Rabbit Molasses is on the cusp.

[Greybnk48]

6. I don't get this one. The man on the front is a professional Chef, no?

Are we going to get rid of Betty Crocker, or Marie Callander because it's misogynistic? Why aren't more white men on the boxes of cake mixes baking cakes for women?

Sorry. I'm grieving Uncle Ben. For me, it was an image of quality not racism, until it was pointed out.