Descendants of Anna Short Harrington have filed a lawsuit against Pepsi, Quaker Oats and other parties claiming Harrington was unfairly compensated for her contribution and the use of her image in marketing the Aunt Jemima brand, according to the Chicago Tribune. Harrington was allegedly the model for Aunt Jemima and the suit claims that Quaker Oats had her image filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office as early as 1937.
According to the lawsuit, Quaker Oats actually changed the Aunt Jemima image in 1989–by selecting Harrington’s daughter as the new model. It’s not all about the image either. The suit also claims that Quaker Oats failed to adequately compensate Harrington for more than 60 recipes.
