Uncle Ben's Rice to 'evolve' brand identity
In an effort to remain sensitive to it's African American consumers, the Mars Company is giving the Uncle Ben's a facelift. The company announce Wednesday that the image will "evolve" to reflect sensitivity to racism happening in America. Many companies are changing their business practices to embrace diversity and inclusion during the escalation of protests around the broader subject of racial injustice against black people in America.
“Who is Uncle Ben? Actually, he was two people!” the brand says on its website. “The name comes from a Black Texan farmer—known as Uncle Ben—who grew rice so well, people compared Converted Brand Rice to his standard of excellence. The proud and dignified gentleman on our boxes, who has come to personify the brand, was a beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown.”
In the past African Americans have called the company out for playing referring to the older Black man in its log as an "uncle" a term that was once equivalent to "boy" which was a debasing term Whites called adult Black males to reflect a sense of superiority during the slavery and the Jim Crow era.
“Who is Uncle Ben? Actually, he was two people!” the brand says on its website. “The name comes from a Black Texan farmer—known as Uncle Ben—who grew rice so well, people compared Converted Brand Rice to his standard of excellence. The proud and dignified gentleman on our boxes, who has come to personify the brand, was a beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown.”
In the past African Americans have called the company out for playing referring to the older Black man in its log as an "uncle" a term that was once equivalent to "boy" which was a debasing term Whites called adult Black males to reflect a sense of superiority during the slavery and the Jim Crow era.
