Uncle Ben's rice gets new name after outcry over racial stereotypes

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The company is also dropping the image of an elderly African\u002DAmerican man that has promoted Uncle Ben’s for more than 70 years

The Uncle Ben’s brand was adopted in 1947, five years after Mars acquired the rights to easy-cook parboiled rice during the second world war. Whether “Ben” existed in real life is unclear, yet the image of the character was based on Frank Brown, a maître d’ in a Chicago restaurant.

But calls to scrap the brand have grown louder, especially as the Blacks Lives Matter movement gathered momentum this year following the killing of George Floyd. Mars had considered more radical alternatives to Ben’s Original but ultimately decided to “keep what we can of the past” while adopting a more “equitable iconography”, Ms Dawson said.

 

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They’ve cancelled a black guy. Antiracists should burn the whole place down. UncleBensLifeMatters

Racial sterotype? They have a picture of a black man on the package? Changing the name does nothing

not Uncle Ben too?! All we'll have left is white characters on products... kinda ironic

Stupidity is the madness of the day -

Finally the neo nazis won't have to buy their rice with a black man on the package. Horseshoe theory unites the racists and anti-racists. The rest of us just scratch our heads in wonder.

If blacks think that they will get more respect after what we are have to withstand from their racist agitators, there are very very very naive.

So sad....

How is the name Uncle Ben racist? I could see changing the photo if they find that upsetting, but the name could be referring to anyone's uncle.

Lol 😂😂🤣

Uncle Ben is black, Racist. Pictures of black people are completely racist. Makes sense. At least as much sense as Trudeau attending a BLM rally in the middle of a pandemic. Glad I’ll never understand liberal logic

Uncle Ben is not an issue. If it was uncle touches, then there would be an issue. Who really cares. They will eventually run out of names i guess. There will.always be something wrong.

How is this racism? So next everyone will be complaining that black people aren’t represented in advertising mediums.

We did it everyone. We eliminated racist side dishes.

Educate me - why is this racial? What about the white guy on “Mr. Clean” is that also racial...?

Guys. Uncie Ben did it. It's over. Racism'ing doesn't exist now!!!

Nothing racial.

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