The Entomological Society of America, a not-for-profit scientific society, is looking to change the name of &#8220;gypsy moths,&#8221; noting that the term is offensive to certain people.
As The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-18e74693eccc7d4a2d0a4ffeaf3691aa">reported</a>, &#8220;The group this week announced that for the first time it changed a common name of an insect because it was offensive. In the past they’ve only reassigned names that weren’t scientifically accurate.&#8221;
According to the Entomological Society of America&#8217;s (ESA) <a href="https://www.entsoc.org/entomological-society-america-discontinues-use-gypsy-moth-ant-names">website</a>, the group is also trying to coordinate such name reassignment with members of the public with a new program. The site stated, “The changes are made in conjunction with the launch of a new ESA program to review and replace insect common names that may be inappropriate or offensive. Entomologists, scientists in related fields, and the public are invited to participate in identifying and proposing alternatives for insect common names that perpetuate negative ethnic or racial stereotypes.” 
&#8220;The purpose of common names is to make communication easier between scientists and the public audiences they serve. By and large, ESA’s list of recognized insect common names succeeds in this regard, but names that are unwelcoming to marginalized communities run directly counter to that goal,&#8221; said ESA President Michelle S. Smith, BCE. &#8220;That&#8217;s why we’re working to ensure all ESA-approved insect common names meet our standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“It’s an ethnic slur to begin with that’s been rejected by the Romani people a long time ago,” Smith said, per the AP. “Second, nobody wants to be associated with a harmful invasive pest.”
The group added that the common names that exist for the moth Lymantria dispar and the ant Aphaenogaster araneoides were found to include “a derogatory term for the Romani people. In June, the ESA Governing Board elected to remove the common names for both species from the ESA Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List.”
&#8220;ESA will seek to convene a volunteer group to propose a new common name for L. dispar, which would then be made available for ESA member comment and subject to approval by the ESA Committee on Insect Common Names and the ESA Governing Board,&#8221; it added.
The website explained The <a href="https://www.entsoc.org/better-common-names-project">Better Common Names Project</a>, which looks for input from members of the community on the ESA’s common names list “and will direct the formation of working groups to develop and recommend new common names where needed.”
“In March 2021, the ESA Governing Board approved new policies for acceptable insect common names, which bar names referencing ethnic or racial groups and names that might stoke fear; the policies also discourage geographic references, particularly for invasive species,” it added. 
Gypsy moths are reportedly thought to have been given the name “gypsy” due to their ability to stay in the air for long periods of time, almost wandering from place to place. As the AP reported, “as larvae they have hair with small air pockets that act like balloons allowing them to float for miles, wandering like the group of people they were named after, [University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum] said. Another theory is that male adult moths have a tan color that could be similar to Romani people.”
There have been other organizations that have moved to change names in order to be less offensive after being called out by “woke” groups of society.
One of the most well-known examples is Quaker Oats when it changed the iconic Aunt Jemima pancake mix to Pearl Milling Company. Other companies appear to have followed its lead and opted out of using names for products that are no longer culturally acceptable.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aunt-jemima-unveils-new-name">reported</a> earlier this year, “Shortly after Quaker announced that it would be changing the name of Aunt Jemima, the company Dreyer’s said it would be renaming its famous Eskimo Pie to something less ‘derogatory.’ In October of last year, the company revealed the new name to be Edy’s Pie. Dreyer denounced the ‘Eskimo Pie’ name as ‘derogatory’ while vowing to change it in the name of ‘racial equality.’”

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Insect Experts Want To Rename ‘Gypsy’ Moths Over Fears Term Is Offensive

Aunt Jemima

After retiring the pancake mascot Aunt Jemima for good, Quaker Oats has announced a new name to sell their brand of breakfast goods: Pearl Milling Company.
&#8220;Quaker Oats said Tuesday that its Aunt Jemima brand pancake mix and syrup will be renamed Pearl Milling Company. Aunt Jemima products will continue to be sold until June, when the packaging will officially change over,&#8221; reports <a href="https://abc7.com/food/aunt-jemima-brand-gets-a-new-name/10324877/?fbclid=IwAR1laGto1ID1e-U5Y7hpYNGFL_QzoTuTM74HqzdcchyWdu14qBvB4OcPWwU">ABC</a>.
&#8220;Quaker said Pearl Milling Company was founded in 1888 in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was the originator of self-rising pancake mix. While the brand will be new to store shelves, the boxes and bottles of syrup will still have the familiar red packaging of Aunt Jemima,&#8221; the report continued. &#8220;Quaker said it sought input from customers, employees and external cultural experts as it developed the new brand name.&#8221;
Quaker announced in June of last year that it would be retiring the famous brand following the Black Lives Matter protests that spread across the nation following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
“As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations,” Quaker said in a statement. “We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.”
Shortly after Quaker announced that it would be changing the name of Aunt Jemima, the company Dreyer’s said it would be renaming its famous Eskimo Pie to something less “derogatory.” In October of last year, the company revealed the new name to be Edy’s Pie. Dreyer denounced the “Eskimo Pie” name as “derogatory” while vowing to change it in the name of “racial equality.”
“We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory,” the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/eskimo-pies-to-change-derogatory-name-after-aunt-jemima-outrage">company said</a>. “This move is part of a larger review to ensure our company and brands reflect our people values.”
In early 2020, the butter company Land O’ Lakes announced that it would be removing the famed “Butter Maiden” — a Native American woman named Mia — from its packaging, a logo designed by Native American artist Patrick DesJarlait. In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/native-american-artist-my-father-drew-the-land-o-lakes-maiden-and-she-isnt-a-stereotype">an article</a> for The Washington Post, DesJarlait’s son, Robert, said his father crafted the logo to “foster a sense of Indian pride.”
“With the redesign, my father made Mia’s Native American connections more specific,” he wrote. “He changed the beadwork designs on her dress by adding floral motifs that are common in Ojibwe art. He added two points of wooded shoreline to the lake that had often been depicted in the image’s background. It was a place any Red Lake tribal citizen would recognize as the Narrows, where Lower Red Lake and Upper Red Lake meet.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dreyers-unveils-new-name-for-derogatory-eskimo-pie">Dreyer’s Unveils New Name For ‘Derogatory’ Eskimo Pie</a>

Aunt Jemima Unveils New Name

Wokeness

The mayor of a small town in Virginia is refusing calls to resign after saying presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden picked &#8220;Aunt Jemima&#8221; to be his running mate, a reference to the fact that Biden pledged to select a woman of color as a vice presidential candidate.
Luray Mayor Barry Presgraves wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post on Aug. 2, &#8220;Joe Biden has just announced Aunt Jemima as his VP pick.&#8221; The comment was met with backlash from members of the Luray City Council, as well as from some residents of the 5,000-person town in the Shenandoah Valley.
According to <a href="https://pagevalleynews.com/luray-mayor-hell-no-im-not-resigning-after-aunt-jemima-comment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Page Valley News</a>, council member Leah Pence posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Penceforoffice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>, &#8220;Barry — I am writing to strongly urge you to resign over a racist comment you made on Facebook. The comment you posted has a type of humor that [has] not been appropriate or funny in my lifetime or yours.&#8221;
&#8220;While a resignation alone will not resolve the systemic subliminal racism that plagues our community, your resignation is imperative as we work towards ending racism in our community,&#8221; Pence continued. &#8220;You are accountable for your words and decisions as the leader of the Town of Luray and your recent actions have caused me and many citizens to lose faith and confidence in your capacity to effectively and justly serve as Mayor of the Town of Luray.&#8221;
“I have talked to several council members, and we are not pleased,” Ron Vickers, another Luray council member, said. “Barry Presgraves does not speak for the council, and he does not speak for Ron Vickers.&#8221;
Luray council member Jerry Schiro told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/luray-mayor-facebook-aunt-jemima/2020/08/03/fa994376-d59a-11ea-9c3b-dfc394c03988_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Washington Post</a>, &#8220;All racial comments are inappropriate given the heightened sensitivity to racism in our country today. We are and should be held to a higher standard. I can assure the citizens of Luray that kind of thinking is not indicative of the council.&#8221;
Presgraves apologized on Monday for the post, telling the town council, &#8220;I understand what I posted on social media was wrong, offensive, and unbecoming.&#8221;
&#8220;I also want to make a direct apology to all people of color and women. Passing off demeaning and worn out racial stereotypes as humor isn&#8217;t funny,&#8221; he added.
Presgraves nevertheless remained unfazed by any call for his resignation. &#8220;Hell no, I’m not resigning,&#8221; Presgraves said. &#8220;The people elected me and I have a few months more to serve.&#8221; His term ends Dec. 31, 2020.
Quaker Oats removed the image of Aunt Jemima from their pancake and syrup products in June after claiming she was based on a &#8220;racial stereotype.&#8221; Kristin Kroepfl, the vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in part:
<blockquote>As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations. We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-hurts-great-grandson-angered-aunt-jemimas-legacy-will-be-erased" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">‘It Hurts’: Great-Grandson Angered Aunt Jemima’s Legacy Will Be Erased</a>

Quaker Oats To Change Name, Remove Image Of Aunt Jemima Brand, As Other Brands Consider Changing Too

Virginia Mayor Refuses To Resign After Saying Biden Chose ‘Aunt Jemima’ For VP

Joe Biden

Kamala Harris

Virginia

Earlier this week, Quaker Oats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/quaker-oats-announces-it-is-changing-name-of-aunt-jemima-due-to-racial-stereotype">announced</a> that they will be rebranding and removing the name and imagery of their Aunt Jemima brand goods as to apparently not perpetuate &#8220;racial stereotypes.&#8221;
&#8220;We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype,&#8221; said a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/quaker-oats-announces-it-is-changing-name-of-aunt-jemima-due-to-racial-stereotype">statement</a> from Kristin Kroepfl, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quaker Foods North America. &#8220;While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.&#8221;
&#8220;We acknowledge the brand has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the confidence, warmth and dignity that we would like it to stand for today,&#8221; Kroepfl added. &#8220;We are starting by removing the image and changing the name. We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand and make it one everyone can be proud to have in their pantry.&#8221;
Though the move was apparently made by Quaker Oats to be racially sensitive, Larnell Evans Sr., a great-grandson of &#8220;Aunt Jemima,&#8221; is not pleased at all with the erasure of his great-grandmother&#8217;s legacy.
&#8220;This is an injustice for me and my family,&#8221; Evans, 66, told <a href="https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/aunt-jemimas-great-grandson-enraged-her-legacy-vanishing">Patch</a> reporter Mark Konkol. &#8220;This is part of my history, sir. The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side — white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother&#8217;s history. A black female. … It hurts.&#8221;
According to Patch, Evans&#8217; now-deceased great-grandmother Anna Short Harrington took over for Nancy Green, the first &#8220;Aunt Jemima,&#8221; following Green&#8217;s death in 1923.
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Harrington, a cook at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house in Syracuse, &#8220;was discovered by a Quaker Oats representative while serving up her pancakes, a favorite of local frat boys, at the New York State Fair in 1935,&#8221; the report outlined. &#8220;Quaker Oats used Harrington&#8217;s likeness on products and advertising, and it sent her around the country to serve flapjacks dressed as &#8216;Aunt Jemima.&#8217; The gig made her a national celebrity.&#8221;
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Evans and a nephew of Harrington&#8217;s filed a lawsuit against Quaker Oats in 2014, seeking $3 billion from the company for not paying royalties to descendants of Harrington&#8217;s. The suit, however, was dismissed by a federal judge in Chicago with prejudice.
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&#8220;She worked for that Quaker Oats for 20 years,&#8221; Evans said, according to Patch. &#8220;She traveled all the way around the United States and Canada making pancakes as Aunt Jemima for them. This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job. … How do you think I feel as a black man sitting here telling you about my family history they&#8217;re trying to erase?&#8221;
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&#8220;How many white people were raised looking at characters like Aunt Jemima at breakfast every morning?&#8221; the Marine Corps veteran posed. &#8220;How many white corporations made all them profits, and didn&#8217;t give us a dime? I think they should have to look at it. They can&#8217;t just wipe it out while we still suffer.&#8221;
&#8220;After making all that money —and now&#8217;s the time when black people are saying we want restitution for slavery — they&#8217;re just going to erase history like it didn&#8217;t happen?&#8221; Evans added, &#8220;They&#8217;re not going to give us nothing? What gives them the right?&#8221;
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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Aunt Jemima

Insect Experts Want To Rename ‘Gypsy’ Moths Over Fears Term Is Offensive

Aunt Jemima Unveils New Name

Virginia Mayor Refuses To Resign After Saying Biden Chose ‘Aunt Jemima’ For VP

‘It Hurts’: Great-Grandson Angered Aunt Jemima’s Legacy Will Be Erased