MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The name "Aunt Jemima" is familiar to millions, but not as many know the remarkable woman behind the iconic trademark was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky. Nancy Green, the original face of the pancake brand, was a trailblazer who overcame the horrors of slavery to become a household symbol.
At the Montgomery County History Museum, Jo Ann Oborski spends her time researching those who came before us, many of them largely unknown.
"We want to acknowledge her, and we want to respect her," Oborski said.
This particular history lesson never made it into textbooks, but one century after her death, Nancy Green's story has finally been told.
"Pretty much except for the advertising of the pancake mix, people forgot about her," Oborski said.
Green was the first person to play the part of "Aunt Jemima," promoting the pancake brand from the 1890s into the early 20th century.
"The legend has it that she flipped a million pancakes. We don't know. We just don't know," Oborski said.
While some chapters of Green's story are missing, we do know she was born into slavery in Montgomery County in 1834. After winning her freedom, she found work as a cook with Charles M. Walker Jr., who moved his family north. Legend says Green's pancake recipe was popular with family friends.
"We are unsure when she relocated to Chicago, we just don't know, but we do know that she was there during the 1890s because she did participate in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair," Oborski said.
That's where her career as a corporate spokesperson took off, as the Aunt Jemima cooking demonstrations drew crowds of people.
"They loved her, her showmanship and her kindness and her energy," Oborski said.
For two decades, Green represented the R.T. Davis Milling Company. Some say Green became wealthy with a lifetime contract, but it's more likely she was an employee of the company who primarily focused on mission work in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
"Among other things besides being the face of the milling company, she was an organizer for the Olivet Baptist Church. At the time of 1919, it was the largest African American church in Chicago, had over 9,000 members," Oborski said.
Green died in 1923 at 89 years old, when she was tragically hit and killed by a car. Her death made headlines nationwide, including in the Lexington Herald Leader.
The Aunt Jemima brand was retired in 2021 due to complaints over harmful racial stereotypes. But thanks in part to the work of her descendants, Nancy Green — the real woman behind the pancakes — is receiving the recognition she deserves. Her image is on display across Mt. Sterling.
"We're proud to call her a Kentuckian," Oborski said.
Green was buried in an unmarked grave in Chicago until just a few years ago, when the Bronzeville Historical Society placed a marker at her burial site. Locally, the Nancy Green Project hosts an annual pancake breakfast in downtown Mt. Sterling. The non-profit awards a scholarship each year in Green's honor.
