Family of woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima in the 1920s urges the company to reconsider changing their name because the job made her a 'hero' in her Texas hometown and they don't want her history erased (8 Pics)

The family of a woman whose image was used in Aunt Jemima branding doesn't want the products renamed because the affiliation made her a hero in her hometown.

Quaker Foods North America, acknowledged that 'Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype,' of a 'mammy' and announced Wednesday that it would be removing the image and name.

Texas woman Vera Harris says her second cousin Lillian Richard worked as an ambassador for the Quaker Oats brand for 23 years from 1925 and she doesn't want the progressive changes to affect her family's local fame.

There is a historic marker dedicated to Richard in her hometown of Fouke after she was one of the black women able to get work in the decades before the civil rights movement.

Vera Harris doesn't want Aunt Jemima to rebrand because her second cousin was an ambassador almost 100 years ago

Quaker Foods North America, acknowledged that 'Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype,' of a 'mammy' and announced Wednesday that it would be rebranding

Lillian Richard (left and right) worked for the Quaker Oats brand for 23 years from 1925

'A lot of people want it removed. We want the world to know that our cousin Lillian was one of the Aunt Jemima's and she made an honest living. We would ask that you reconsider just wiping all that away. There wasn't a lot of jobs, especially for black women back in that time. She was discovered by Quaker Oats to be their brand person,' Harris told KLTV.

'She made an honest living out of it for a number of years. She toured around Texas.'

'She was considered a hero in Hawkins, and we are proud of that. We do not want that history erased.'

Anna S. Harrington, who was a cook and former sharecropper started playing Aunt Jemima in 1935 and reached celebrity on a national level.

Richard was was one of the black women able to get work in the decades before the civil rights movement

There is a historic marker dedicated to Richard in her hometown of Fouke in Texas

Her great-grandsons sued Quaker Oats in 2014, claiming they failed to pay royalties to Nancy Green – the enslaved woman the original aunt Jemima branding was based on in 1834 - as well as their great-grandmother.

They said their great-grandmother helped to formulate the self-rising pancake mix's recipe.

The case was later dismissed by a judge, the Courier Journal reports.

The rebranding comes as Uncle Ben's has decided to change its image for similar stereotypical reasons and amid calls to change the name of military bases named after Confederate soldiers who fought to preserve the institution of slavery.

'I wish we would take a breath and not just get rid of everything, because good or bad, it is our history,' Harris added. 'Removing that wipes away a part of me. A part of each of us. We are proud of our cousin.'

She also said they are opposed to changing the names of military bases because some of her relatives have served. 

Mammy characters are based off the racist minstrel characters used in entertainment

Aunt Jemima has evolved its imagery over time but the name still evokes memories of slavery