14. Edith Wilson became the new face of Aunt Jemima in the late 1940s
Edith Wilson worked on the nightclub scene during the 1920s and 1930s, as a singer and performer, occasionally recording with other blues artists. She preferred live performances over the recording studio, and appeared with many of the leading musicians of her day in New York. Edith sang with Duke Ellington’s orchestra in Harlem, as well as with Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Cab Calloway in several clubs and venues. She toured Europe singing American blues and modern jazz. She also appeared on radio and in films. During World War II she performed for the troops in USO shows. When Amos and Andy moved to television in the early 1950s she appeared in guest roles on the show, as she previously had for the radio version of the program.
In 1948, Quaker Oats recognized the necessity of developing a presence for their products on the new medium of television. They also considered whomever they chose to appear as Aunt Jemima on television would need to assume the role in personal appearances. In 1948, Edith Wilson was hired to be the first Aunt Jemima on television. She accepted the role at a time when pressures to remove the racially stereotyped imagery from consumer brands and advertising were gathering steam. For the new face of Aunt Jemima, references to her fictional plantation past were dropped. Wilson’s Aunt Jemima remained a stereotypical Mammy in appearance, but the exaggerated dialect and mannerisms were gradually eased, and eventually dropped entirely.
