Jimmies? Racist? What?

courtesy gourmetsleuth.com

Apparently, those of us who work behind the counter should be weary of our words, especially if we get a customer with a Southern accent. I was informed by a random customer a while back that the word “jimmies” is sometimes used in a racist context. In my profession, hearing this automatically made me quite upset. I’ve always thought of jimmies as you know, sprinkles!

After some “research” it turned out to have at least a ring of truth. Every source I could find on this topic was a general, open forum discussion, so I thought it best that I use the best known one… Urban Dictionary! The 10th definition down calls the term “an old racial slur that means a black person. Used primarily in the South.”  The first nine definitions all refer to the ice cream topping, many accrediting the name to different parts of the Northeast, of course.

The two uses of the word are apparently unrelated. According to Brigham’s, sprinkles were originally invented in 1930 by a man named Samuel Born, who founded the Brooklyn based Just Born Candy Company seven years earlier. His newly acquired employee, James Bartholomew, was the first person to ever operate the machine that made them, and he decided to name the candy after him!

Even though I’ve got all that straightened out now, I still feel super awkward when I say jimmies to customers. No one else has said anything, but I always get a nervous feeling that somebody will. As most of you know, this is the second time the South has rained on my parade this summer. Why must it do this to me?

Urban Dictionary: jimmies

Lots of fun and interesting facts about ice cream!