They’re changing the name of Uncle Ben’s.

[mummabear1967]

www.itv.com/news/2020-09-23/uncle-bens-name-dropped-from-rice-brand-after-logo-criticised-as-racial-stereotype?fbclid=IwAR0QAktv-u9bOTaruhDqMWGIcCJjAMILzpXtmRSe_iYzQE6qKBTWinyaIK8

Why on Earth are they doing that? Have people seriously complained? I don’t know why I’m acting surprised!

I recommend a quick read of this article which also discusses Aunt Jemima (which is also being rebranded).
www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/ncna1231623

I'm glad I read this thread as I had no idea where the name came from either! I think they are doing the right thing changing it, and it's a good chance for some education about these kind of terms.

Women have been oppressed for century's. So by that logical, let's remove all logos containing women

I suppose it would depend on the context and the language used in the advert.

Like many.othwrs, I hadn't clocked the racisit tone. Now I have. And so I wholly approve of the rebrand. Good.

Thank you for this thread.

I did not know about the slave connotations to uncles/aunt names.

So this has been useful.

If this is the case its very surprising its been this way for so long.

Would also be interesting to find out who complained. And how long its been going in for. I say that as being a woman often we are ignored when we complain and action is only taken when the woke white men take offence.

I hope this isn't the case here and that they haven't been repeatedly asked and had it constantly explained by black people only to act when the usual suspects complain

Some of the replies are just spiteful.
The OP wasn't aware of something, started a thread, found out some more, acknowledged their lack of knowledge about American culture surrounding uncle and has generally been a really open minded OP.

What's she got in return? Nasty spiteful comments about how she should have used Google.
It's exactly that sort of response that reduces the likelihood of people with genuine questions asking them, after all why bother asking if you're going to be sneered at for discussing instead of googling?

Jeepers. That's a typo disaster ↑ apologies.

@saraclara

It's possibly unsurprising that many of the British Mumsnetters don't know about what the 'uncle' element of the brand means, historically.

But maybe just read up a bit before going full on 'what's the world coming to?'; 'snowflakes'; 'PC' accusations. Especially when the brand is an American one and not British.

It was mentioned on MN some time ago and I did my research then.

From what I learned, the picture was of a renowned and much-respected Maitre'D at a posh hotel who was asked if his picture could be used, and he happily agreed.

American people know even less about British culture than we do about theirs, to be honest.

Why is that so hard for posters to grasp?

They think their ignorance is funny or clever. They think that yelling snowflake is the height of intelligence and wit, that they've really stuck it to the rest of us with that overused insult.

The OP asked a question from a position of ignorance, acknowledged it and grasps why the company is changing the name and logo. Some other people on the thread, however, clearly knowing equally little about slave 'titles' etc, came in screaming about 'PC gone mad' and 'how can rice be racist?' Why not just look something up if you don't understand it? Even the media coverage of the logo change gives the basics.

I haven't seen if someone else said it, but 'Uncle So and So' is also a typical name for what was called a 'house slave' -- a compliant slave who had higher status because of indoor work than a field or plantation slave, and was perceived to be closer to his 'owners' and loyal to them, rather than rebellious. A version of it is still used as a pejorative term for right-wing black people who support existing power structures. Malcolm X used the term.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_negro

What's she got in return? Nasty spiteful comments about how she should have used Google

Think before you post.
It's not difficult. The OP was surprised it was dropped

Why on Earth are they doing that? Have people seriously complained? I don’t know why I’m acting surprised

It's about time. This change should have been made decades ago.

Oh, and I think one of the reasons that the Uncle Ben logo 'reads' so differently in the UK is that it makes many people think of the impeccably dapper, formally-clad newsreader and journalist Sir Trevor McDonald.

There is a difference between asking why the name has been changed vs starting a thread with "people have seriously complained"

whatamess4 Ah, resorting to name calling – how original and intelligent of you . What's offensive is the attitude that racism doesn't need to be addressed and that this is PC-nonsense-world-gone-mad etc etc, which is what you and other posters have pretty much said. It's not about a packet of rice, it's about eradicating racism. But clearly you don't give a shit about that.

Women have been oppressed for century's. So by that logical, let's remove all logos containing women

There is beginning to be a very obvious overlap with some MN feminists and right wing racists, its getting worrying, imagine using the way women have been treated to try and dismiss the way POC have been treated/are feeling about racist packaging. Well done OP I applaud how youve handled this and how yuove listened to PP's

If you're American (I am) or have an awareness of American history and language it's very obvious why the brand change needed to happen. It shouldn't have taken this long.

It's an American company that probably sells more product in America than Europe. Most Americans will understand the change and (hopefully) support it.

British people hollering snowflake are confused and reactionary.

Is it just me that thinks ‘Ben’s Original’ sounds like a brand of dog food? 🐶

Sorry but I'm not buying the feigned innocence from OP, who posts an article without reading it first? - an article which very clearly explains why the name is being dropped.

Then to ask "if anyone actually complained and don't know why I'm acting surprised."

Really glad that genuinely caring people are learning from the thread but I don't believe for second OP posted this innocently.

There is a difference between asking why the name has been changed vs starting a thread with "people have seriously complained"
Yes, but most people don't go through life doing an appropriate Google search before every conversation. People learn through discussion and change their mind, as the OP has.

Seeing an OP who has acknowledged they got it wrong and then chipping in with pointless snide comments adds nothing.

Wikipedia says this
“From 1946-2020, Uncle Ben's products carried the image of an elderly African-American man dressed in a bow tie, which is said to have been based on a Chicago maître d'hôtel named Frank Brown.[14][15] According to Mars, Uncle Ben was an African-American rice grower known for the quality of his rice.”

So, Uncle Ben and image is either based on a high ranking hotel manager or based on a rice plantation owner/grower.

But the people who owned the company that sold the rice were white. It’s cultural appropriation- Using the image of a black person as a brand in order to better sell your product when you are not black.

Uncle and Aunt were terms used so that slave owners could kid themselves they were still a gentle, courteous, mannerly group of people by giving older people that they 'owned' a courtesy title. I've actually never bought Uncle Ben's products because of this and I gave DH a rocket for buying their rice a while back.

It's about time.