Weights and Measures
The scales of justice are balanced by weights and measures
The Weights and Measures Division of the US Government promotes uniformity… and standards to achieve equity... in the marketplace.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER That this must be said, that it is a movement, is heartbreaking, because this is an indisputable statement of fact. That this has taken on a meaning and life beyond being a mere statement and is a movement is exhilarating, heralding with it learning, examination and actions aimed at addressing racism and changing the deeply systemic issues perpetuating inequity.
Brands, like people, are making pledges with their voices in solidarity and with donation. But that’s simply not enough. The ones that we believe and admire take action, as they always do. Their consistent behavior aligns with their values - from Ben & Jerry’s to Patagonia.
In the last few weeks, several food companies have taken action, pledging to evolve or eradicate brands with racist origins. Cream of Wheat, Uncle Ben’s, Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemima are among these, all having profited from the portrayal of their iconic Black spokespeople (real and invented) in a glorified version of antebellum plantation life, rife with references to enslavement and segregation.
While my initial reaction was to applaud these actions, I was struck by what appears to be grandstanding and further exploitation, as brand owners including Pepsico, ConAgra, B&G Foods, and Mars seek adulation and approval for these moves rather than simply and quietly doing the right thing. They’ve also not announced ongoing, long-term strategies that directly address racial wealth inequities - a primary driver of systemic oppression.
The Aunt Jemima brand alone could start with the families of the brand’s ambassadors: at least 12 women whose likenesses were the embodiment of the caricature. They crossed the country and traveled abroad, making appearances, demonstrating the product, and building the brand’s considerable equity over time, but failed to share in it. Nancy Green, Lillian Richard, Anna Robinson, Anna Short Harrington, Edith Wilson, Ethel Ernestine Harper, Rosie Lee Moore Hall, and Alyene Lewis, and others that followed them for another three decades, never received fair compensation; and many, in spite of their work, lived below the poverty line and died without the benefit of accumulated wealth.
While these powerful companies consider evolving or eradicating these brands, they can not eradicate their legacies of exploitation, and must not eradicate the legacy of the people on whose backs these brands were built.
While I have never purchased or cooked with Aunt Jemima syrup, as an avid baker, I love the taste of real maple syrup. In honor of Nancy Green and her successors, I leave you with my recipe for Maple Cherry scones:
Maple Cherry Scones
Photo by Elizabeth Talerman.
Ingredients
200 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
125 grams old fashioned rolled oats
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
50 grams pecan halves toasted and broken up a bit
50 grams dried cherries + a few to garnish the top of each scone
1 stick cold, salted butter cut into ½ inch cubes
80 grams half & half or cream
150 grams maple syrup
1 cold egg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Mix flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda together. Scatter the butter over the top and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter leaving small shards of butter pieces visible - don’t fully blend. The melting of the butter into the dry ingredients in the oven will ensure a great flakey texture to your scone. Toss in toasted pecan chunks and dried cherries.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream, maple syrup and the egg. Pour the cream mixture into the flour-butter mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are mostly incorporated. This is a wet dough.
Using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measure, grab dough without compressing it and drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment about 2 inches apart. I like to place a cherry on top of each scone .
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the scones are golden brown. Eat them hot lathered with butter or transfer them to a cooling rack. They stay fresh for a few days. They freeze well and toast up quickly!
This article is the first edition of a new column for Ensemble Magazine, written by Elizabeth Talerman, brand strategist and baker.
Elizabeth Talerman is the founding partner of The Nucleus Group, a strategy collaborative that brings marketers, designers and behavioral specialists together in service of business strategy and social impact. She teaches brand strategy at the School of Visual Arts and wakes most mornings to see her bread rise with the sunrise.