Similarly, my FB feed is full of white friends condemning Aunt Jemima as racist. One reason they cite is “Aunt”, how it is less respectful than “Mrs.” (as in Mrs. Butterworth), and refers to a black woman caring for white children. I know from Russia that aunt and uncle are common informal honorifics, and I have heard Indians and Africans saying the same. I just confirmed with a Ghanaian friend that it is indeed common there. West African slaves did not arrive in the US as blank slates — they brought with them their cultures. “Aunt” may very well be a meme that survived.

BTW, I protested that if the brand were so bad, I would have heard complaints long ago, and got jumped on. I checked it with my 87-year-old father, who agreed that his generation generally has no problem with Aunt Jemima, and use the product. For whatever reasons, people are trying too hard, and focusing on symbols rather than substance.