Uncle Ben's Changing Name To Ben's Original After Criticism Of Racial Stereotyping. Boxes of Uncle Ben Converted Rice on a store shelf.

Frank Brown Mars said in the summer that Uncle Ben was a fictional character whose name was first used in 1946 as a reference to an African American Texan rice farmer. The image used on Uncle Ben packaging was a “beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown”, the company said.

Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that were introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Uncle Ben's rice was first marketed in 1943 and was the top-selling rice in the United States until the 1990s.

Rice brand Uncle Ben's changing name and logo because of racist connotations. The Uncle Ben's rice brand is getting a new name: Ben's Original, because the previous name and logo has been criticized as a racial stereotype.

The founder of Mars, Forrest E Mars, first branded the rice product as the Original Converted Brand Rice in 1942. The name was then changed to Uncle Ben's Original Converted Brand Rice in 1947. Uncle Ben was the name of a fictional character, first used in 1946, as a reference to an African-American Texan rice farmer.

Its marketing has been criticised for perpetuating racial stereotypes. Titles such as uncle and aunt were used in southern US states to refer to black people, instead of the more formal and respectful "Miss" or "Mister". The name Uncle Ben's was supposedly inspired by a Texas farmer known for his high-quality rice.

According to Mars, the name was originally inspired by a real-life African-American Texas rice farmer, known for the high quality of his products, while the image was modelled after a Chicago maitre d named Frank Brown - who was reportedly paid the equivalent of $50 for his likeness.

Ben is a masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning “son.” It is related to the name Benjamin derived from the Hebrew Binyamin, which means “son of my right hand.” Ben is a popular pet name for Benjamin, Benedict, Benson, and Bennett, but it is also a well-established and popular first name.

Benjamin "Ben" Parker, usually called Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Universe and was the uncle of the superhero Spider-Man. Modeled after American founding father Benjamin Franklin, the character plays an influential role in the Spider-Man comic books.

The name Uncle Ben came from an African American farmer in Texas who was renowned for his high-quality rice. According to the brand's website, Gordon Harwell and his partner who co-founded the grains line decided to change the name of what was called Converted Brand Rice in the late 1940s to draw in new customers.

For generations, stereotypical imagery of Black and Indigenous people has appeared on food brands. Amid 2020's “racial reckoning,” Uncle Ben's, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., announced that it would modify its name and remove the Black man on its products who was inspired by an African-American cook and waiter.