As the most recent wave of protests against racial injustice ushered in an already dismal summer, racism deeply embedded across pop culture began to ooze to the surface. Better yet, it was always at the surface and some people finally decided to flick on their high beams to see it.
Aunt Jemima? Cancelled. Blackface episodes in sitcoms? Blacklisted.
Then there was the ice cream jingle.
It’s been an open secret that the highly recognizable summertime ditty is based on the tune “Turkey in the Straw” that was co-opted in the 1900s as a minstrel show favorite.
Categories: News
