Who was Nancy Green?

DISCLAIMER: This was not written by be. I took the information presented below from newspaper accounts and an African-American Culture source. What you will find below was written nearly a century ago.  

Who was Nancy Green?

She was born a slave, but rose to become a fascinating American success story. During her illustrious life, she was the original “Aunt Jemima,’’ whose face was on the label of millions of syrup bottles in American kitchens and supermarkets.

Green parlayed her talents to sell a product to millions of Americans at a time when opportunities were few for people of color. With her success, Green is considered an important figure in Black history.

Buried in 1923, Green is perhaps the first prominent Black who was interred at Oak Woods, which was then a segregated cemetery that did not sell plots to Blacks. Another famous Black pioneer, journalist and activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, was interred at Oak Woods in 1931. Although Oak Woods tried to keep Blacks out in its early years, Blacks in the 1920s and 30s would secure plots through White families and friends,

Green was born into slavery on March 4, 1834 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. As a young nurse, Green moved to Chicago after 1865 to work as a cook and maid for the Walker family, whose children grew up to be the late Chicago Judge Charles M. Walker and Dr. Samuel Walker, a wealthy physician who lived on the city’s North Side, according to an old article in the Defender.

According to several reports, Green was a founding member of Bronzeville’s 165-year old Olivet Baptist Church, 3101 S. King Drive. During that time, the church had 10,000 members according to church officials and several news articles.

As a domestic, Green was known for her homemade cooking and warm, affable personality. She was referred to two businessmen – Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood – who bought the Pearl Milling Company to sell ready-mixed and self-rising pancake flour.

After watching a vaudeville show that featured a character named Aunt Jemima, the two men decided to market a product based on the fictional character. After hearing of Green’s skills and personality, they hired her to help sell their product. The men gave her a booth at Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition in 1893, where Green would help sell 50,000 orders for Aunt Jemima pancake mix.

News reports said Green was such a crowd pleaser that special policemen were hired to keep the lines moving. Green was then proclaimed the “Pancake Queen” and was awarded a lifetime contract with the R.T. Davis Milling Company, which was later purchased by the Quaker Oats Company in 1926.

OBITUARY

September 3, 1923 – The Deputy Coroner holds an inquest into the death of Mrs. Nancy Green, an 83-year-old woman who died when an automobile collided with a laundry truck, overturning on the sidewalk, where Green was standing under the elevated structure at 3100 South State Street. Green was born on March 4, 1834, as a slave in Montgomery County, Kentucky. She came to Chicago to serve as a nurse and household servant for the wealthy Walker family, and Charles M. Walker, the chief justice of the Municipal Court and his brother, Dr. Samuel Walker, raved to their friends about the pancakes that she made. [Chicago Daily Tribune, September 4, 1923]. At the age of 56 she was selected by the R. T. Davis Milling Company to serve as the living symbol for its pancake mix. Nancy Green became Aunt Jemima, and in 1893 the company made the decision to begin a huge promotion of its product at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. According to the African American Registry, “Green was a hit, friendly, a good storyteller … Her exhibition booth drew so many people that special policemen were assigned to keep the crowds moving.” [

The Davis Milling Company received more than 50,000 orders at the fair. Green signed a lifetime contract and traveled all over the country, promoting the pancake mix. By 1910 more than 120 million Aunt Jemima pancake meals were being served annually, roughly equivalent to the population of the United States. 

Green was more than a spokesperson for a flour company, though. She was also an organizer of the Olivet Baptist Church, one of the largest African-American churches in Chicago. She raised her voice consistently in her late years to advocate for anti-poverty programs and equal rights. She is buried in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery.

*** I also found a reference to Nancy Green having been the first female African-American millionaire, but could not find supporting references.

So, in the haste to rid the country of references to racism, the Aunt Jemima brand is no longer and I just want the world to know who Nancy Green, aka Aunt Jemima was and the success she achieved before she fades from memory obscured by false accusations that she was racist.  Apparently not all Black lives matter equally.