Nancy Green
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Nancy Green (March 4, 1834 – August 30, 1923) was an American former slave, who, as "
Aunt Jemima Aunt Jemima was an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and was advertised as the first " ...
", was one of the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
models hired to promote a corporate trademark. The Aunt Jemima recipe was not her recipe, but she became the advertising world's first living trademark.


Biography

Nancy Hayes (or Hughes) was born enslaved in the
Antebellum South The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practic ...
on March 4, 1834. Montgomery County Historical Society oral history places her birth at a farm on Somerset Creek, six miles outside Mount Sterling in Montgomery County, Kentucky. With George Green, she had at least two and as many as four children (one of whom was born in 1862). Local farmers from that area named Green raised tobacco, hay, cattle, and hogs. There were no birth certificates or marriage licenses for enslaved people. Nancy Green has been variously described as a servant, nurse, nanny, housekeeper, and cook for Samuel Johnson Walker and his wife Amanda. She also served the family's next generation, again as a nanny and a cook. Walker's two sons later became well known as Chicago Circuit Judge Charles Morehead Walker., and Dr. Samuel J. Walker. By the end of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Green had already lost her husband and children. She lived in a wood frame shack (still standing as of 2014) behind a grand home on Main Street in
Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers, across from Cincinnati to the north ...
. She moved with the Walkers from Kentucky to Chicago in the early 1870s, before the birth of Samuel's youngest child in 1872. The Walker family initially settled in a swank residential district near Ashland Avenue and Washington Boulevard called the "Kentucky Colony", then home to many transplanted Kentuckians. On the recommendation of Judge Walker, she was hired by the R.T. Davis Milling Company in
St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...
, to represent "
Aunt Jemima Aunt Jemima was an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and was advertised as the first " ...
", an advertising character named after a song from a
minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...
. According to Maurice M. Manring, the company's search for "A real living black woman, instead of a white man in blackface and drag, would reinforce the product's authenticity and origin as the creation of a real ex-slave." At the age of fifty-nine, Green made her debut as Aunt Jemima at the 1893
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
held in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, beside the "world's largest flour barrel" (twenty-four feet high), where she operated a pancake-cooking display, sang songs, and promoted the product. After the Expo, Green was reportedly offered a lifetime contract to adopt the Aunt Jemima moniker and promote the pancake mix; however, she would only choose to serve in the position for twenty years. This marked the beginning of a major promotional push by the company that included thousands of personal appearances and Aunt Jemima merchandising. She appeared at fairs, festivals, flea markets, food shows, and local grocery stores. Her arrival was heralded by large billboards featuring the caption, "I's in town, honey." Despite her "lifetime contract", she portrayed the role for no more than twenty years. She refused to cross the ocean for the 1900 Paris exhibition. She was replaced by Agnes Moodey, deemed by the company to be "a Negress of sixty years". After Green's death other women were hired by Quaker Oats to portray the role of Aunt Jemima, including Lillian Richard. In 1910, at age 76, Green was still working as a residential housekeeper according to the census. Few people were aware of her role as Aunt Jemima. Green lived with nieces and nephews in Chicago's Fuller Park and Grand Boulevard neighborhoods into her old age. At the time of her death, she was living with her great-nephew and his wife.


Religion and advocacy

Green was active in the Chicago Olivet Baptist Church. During her lifetime, it grew significantly, becoming the largest black church in the United States, with a membership at that time of over 9,000. Her stature as a national spokesperson enabled her to become an advocate against poverty and in favor of equal rights for the black population. She used her stature as a spokesperson to advocate against poverty and in favor of equal rights for individuals in Chicago.


Death

Green died on August 30, 1923, at the age of 89 in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, when a car driven by pharmacist Dr. H. S. Seymour collided with a laundry truck and "hurtled" onto the sidewalk where she was standing. She is buried in a pauper's grave near a wall in the northeast quadrant of Chicago's Oak Woods Cemetery.


Grave marker

Her grave was unmarked and unknown until 2015. Sherry Williams, founder of the Bronzeville Historical Society, spent 15 years uncovering Green's resting place. Williams received approval to place a headstone. Williams reached out to
Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...
about whether they would support a monument for Green's grave. "Their corporate response was that Nancy Green and Aunt Jemima aren't the same that Aunt Jemima is a fictitious character." The headstone was placed on September 5, 2020.


Lawsuit

In 2014, a lawsuit was filed against Quaker Oats, PepsiCo, and others, claiming that Green and Anna Short Harrington (who portrayed Aunt Jemima starting in 1935) were exploited by the company and cheated out of the monetary compensation they were promised. The plaintiffs were two of Harrington's great-grandsons, and they sought a multi-billion dollar settlement for descendants of Green and Harrington. The lawsuit was dismissed
with prejudice ''Prejudice'' is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, ''prejudice'' differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical mea ...
and without leave to amend on February 18, 2015.


See also

* Tess Gardella


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Nancy 1834 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American slaves 19th-century Baptists 20th-century African-American people 19th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American women Aunt Jemima African-American activists Baptists from Illinois Female characters in advertising Pedestrian road incident deaths People from Montgomery County, Kentucky Quaker Oats Company people Road incident deaths in Illinois People enslaved in Kentucky