While it's not immediately apparent that Mrs. Butterworth is tapping into any harmful stereotypes, Rastus, the grinning chef on the Cream of Wheat box, definitely is.

Emery Mapes from the North Dakota Diamond Milling Co. created the logo in 1893 and settled on the countenance of a Black chef. How progressive, right?

Well, not exactly. It was clear that Rastus was the butt of a joke, a caricature meant to perpetuate the racist imagery of an uneducated Black man. Probably the best example of this is a 1921 ad that depicts the chef holding up a chalkboard of rudimentary writing: "Maybe Cream of Wheat aint got no vitamines. I dont know what them things is. If they’s bugs they aint none in Cream of Wheat but she's sho' good to eat and cheap. Costs 'bout 1 cent fo' a great big dish."