Uncle Ben Promoted to CEO

It seems that Mars Inc., makers of Uncle Ben's Rice, have re-visioned Uncle Ben from a lowly Black cook (or racist spokes-character) to an imaginary CEO. You can take a tour of his office here.

I found out about Unlce Ben's new found status at Slate's article on racist spokes-characters - a slide show essay. Here's an excerpt from the Slate article:

"...the image of the servile African-American soon became a popular motif in American marketing, one that's proved remarkably enduring. You're looking at the most successful example of them all. Aunt Jemima was dreamed up in 1889 by a white businessman who was inspired by a character at a minstrel show. Looking for a way to sell a self-rising pancake mix, Chris L. Rutt conceived a jolly ex-slave who lived on a Louisiana plantation and made legendary flapjacks in the days "befo' de wah." Eventually, she'd be boycotted by the NAACP, attacked by Langston Hughes, and belittled by Public Enemy. But this quintessential "mammy"—a black woman who lives to nurture, clean, and cook for whites—was a marketing phenomenon from the start..."

Photo 1947 ad courtesy Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia