Today’s guest post is by Peppercommer Dandy Stevenson.

There’s a lot of flap going around about the woman purported to be the inspiration for Aunt Jemima of pancake fame. Nancy Green, born a slave in Eastern Kentucky, ended up a free woman in Chicago, working for a prosperous man who suggested to the president of a milling company that Nancy represent the company’s pancake mix. That was 1893.

Fast forward to the 30s when one Anna Harrington was tapped to be the new face of Aunt Jemima.
And today, the heirs claim that neither was educated or savvy enough to have negotiated a contract assuring these women fair monetary compensation. But these fine relatives are stepping forward to make things right by demanding $2 million to make up for the last 121 years plus a percentage moving forward.

First, I wonder how they came at that two mil figure. Per pancake? Per serving? Is a serving one or two? What about batter that dripped on the floor? And what about the times it was used in other recipes such as a coating for fried fish? And does Ms. Green’s loving and sensitive heirs get more because their dearly departed relative was the first? Make my head sizzle on the griddle to figure this out.

I hope the judge tells these folks to take a reality bath and stop bothering the court. The very idea that someone would reach back in history and decide that their relative has been screwed out of money is ludicrous. And where have these heirs been? “Quaker Oats turned to Harrington’s youngest daughter, Olivia Hunter, in 1989, to update the look of Aunt Jemima, who no longer resembles a black servant with a red bandanna.” That was 25 years ago, and no law suit. Has Hunter been receiving residuals?

And who says these women didn’t have the capability to know the value of their time and image. I think it’s actually kind of insulting for these folks to assume they were so ignorant.

I believe these long-lost heirs are looking to make a fast buck and I hope this lawsuit gets tossed out faster than you can say “pass the syrup.”