12 racist brands, mascots, and logos that were considered just another part of American life

Organization: St. John's University

The Queens, New York-based college began calling its sports teams the Redmen in the early 1920s and adopted the Chief Blackjack mascot in 1928 when two students found a statue of him outside a cigar store.

The school used a variant of the logo you see here up until 1987, finally ditching the Redmen name in 1994 after pressure from Native-American groups. The school's teams are now known as the Red Storm.

Source: St. John's University, Jay Rosenstein Productions, New York Times

Company: Cream of Wheat

Since the 1880s, Rastus has been widely considered a pejorative term associated with black men. Through advertisements from the first part of the 20th century, the smiling chef is depicted as childlike and uneducated.

Cream of Wheat took Rastus off the box in 1925 in favor of a portrait of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef who remains on the box to this day (pictured above).

Source: The Jim Crow Museum Of Racist Memorabilia, Adweek

Company: Chiquita

Originally a sexy banana, the mascot is now a sexy banana seller. She wears a Carmen-Miranda-esque fruit hat that gives an exotic and idealized image of the tropics.

Source: Chiquita

Organization: Syracuse University

Before the private university looked to Otto the Orange for a boost of school spirit, Syracuse University's mascot was Big Chief Bill Orange, the Saltine Warrior.

A statue of the Saltine Warrior was erected on the campus in 1951 and still stands today. In 1978, students in the Syracuse community and members of a Native-American organization protested the use of this mascot.

Eventually the Saltine Warrior was retired along with the costume worn by the mascot.

Source: Syracuse University Archives

Company: Fritos

Speaking broken English and robbing unsuspecting bystanders, the Frito Bandito was an armed Mexican conman with a disheveled look and a gold tooth.

Responding to pressure from the Mexican American Anti-Defamation Committee, the snack-food giant cleaned up Frito Bandito's look. But combed hair and a friendlier expression didn't quite cut it.

Fritos ditched the cartoon, and a less controversial band of cowboys, the Muncha Bunch, replaced him.

Source: "On the Media"

Land O'Lakes recently changed the packaging for its consumer products to remove the image of a Native American woman with a feather in her hair.

The change was implemented ahead of the company's 100th anniversary. The new packaging is very similar to the original, save for the removal of the Native American woman. It also added the phrase "farmer-owned" above the Land O'Lakes name.

Source: Business Insider

Company: Cadbury Pascall

The ice cream treat named for a North American tribe became the subject of controversy in 2009 when a Canadian Inuit woman said the product name insulted her heritage.

A slow-moving and largely unpublicized battle in North America's northland has quietly raged on against the use of the word "Eskimo" to describe people with Inuit heritage.

But "Eskimo" is so ingrained that even the occasional blasts of bad publicity have failed to persuade manufacturer Cadbury Pascall to consider a new name.

Source: The Toronto Star

Company: Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball

Despite decades of criticism and lobbying for his removal, Chief Wahoo is still the mascot for Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians.

Still, the once-untouchable landscape of sports mascots is bending. Now that the Redskins lost their trademark, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is asking whether Chief Wahoo should be next.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

Company: Sambo's

When restaurateurs Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnett launched Sambo's, they insisted its name had nothing to do with a children's book of the time, "The Story of Little Black Sambo."

But the businessmen capitalized on the association, with "Little Black Sambo"-inspired decor.

In the late 1970s, the chain had 1,200 locations in 47 states. After some backlash, a name change and an attempt at an identity makeover, it went bankrupt in 1981.

Source: Slate

Company: Pillsbury

When Kool-Aid started dominating the refreshment market, Pillsbury decided to create its own competing brand: Funny Face.

Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry are actual varieties of Funny Face, and the racist overtones didn't stop at the names: Caricatures accompanied each of the flavors.

Pillsbury eventually swapped out its original varieties for Jolly Olly Orange and Choo Choo Cherry on its own.

Source: Slate

Company: Stroh Brewery

Though the real Crazy Horse may have advocated abstinence, that didn't stop Stroh Brewery from capitalizing on his recognizable name and image — as well as the popular stereotype that Native Americans are heavy drinkers — with this malt beverage.

The company had to backpedal after its product inspired serious outrage from Crazy Horse's estate and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. In 2001, Stroh apologized in a ceremony on the Rosebud Reservation.

Crazy Horse is still on the market, but under the name Crazy Stallion.

Source: Slate