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Oh Paula Deen, will you ever learn? An image on the website for Lady & Sons, the restaurant Deen owns in Savannah, Geor., features a "mammy figure," according to a post on Facebook. The controversial mother-type figure that rose in popularity during and after slavery, is shown ringing a dinner bell, as child caretakers — often called mammys — did in plantation days to let the family know dinner was ready. The advertisement is mean to notify patrons of the restaurant's new hours of operation.
A group on Facebook has taken notice of the ad, and is enraged by its racist undertones. "Paula Deen longs for the antebellum south when Blacks, especially black women were non-threatening servants." The Facebook message encourages black women to "kill the mammy within" and avoid associations with people like Paula Deen.
UPDATE: According to a Deen spokesperson, the image depicted in the ad is not new, but has been used on the restaurant's website for "five years." The restaurant further explains, "the lady featured in the picture has worked at the restaurant for over 17 years and is like family to the Deens." A previous version of this article was titled "How Deep Does Paula Deen's Racism Run?"
