SHAW UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE
WINS $2M POWERBALL JACKPOT;
ENDOWS SCHOLARSHIP
RALEIGH, NC – Long-time Shaw University
employee Marilyn
Fields claimed a $2
million Powerball
jackpot prize July 10.
She will use some
of the money to fully
endow a University
scholarship she
created in 2013.
Fields, a 1976 Shaw
graduate, serves
as the executive
assistant to the president and has been
an employee for 38 years. She created
the Richardson Johnson Fields Endowed
Scholarship in September 2013 to honor her
parents and to provide financial assistance
to Shaw students in need. With $5,000
in seed money, she was able to start the
scholarship, but her new found wealth will
allow her to fully endow the scholarship to
$25,000 to meet University requirements.
Fields’ ties to the University runs deep.
In addition to being a graduate and an
employee, she met her husband Charlie, also
a graduate, while she was a student. Her son
Brandon graduated from Shaw in 2003 and
her daughter Nina attend the University for
several years. In October 2013, Fields was
inducted into the University’s “Crystal Bear
Society” for establishing an
endowed scholarship
In a few weeks Fields will be celebrating her
60th birthday, but she still plans on retiring
at 62. She has not yet decided how much she
will give to Shaw, but notes “Shaw was god
sent. As long as I live, Shaw will not be free
of me.”
NEWS BRIEFS
“AUNT JEMIMA” FAMILY FILES $2 BILLION DOLLAR
LAWSUIT AGAINST QUAKER OATS AND PEPSI
D. W. Hunter, the grandson of Aunt
Jemima – Anna Short Harrington – has
filed a $2 billion dollar class action
lawsuit on behalf of himself and all of
her great grandchildren against Quaker
Oats, PepsiCo, Pinnacle Foods Group
and The Hillshire Brands Company
for using his great grandmother’s
image without “equitable fair share of
royalties.”
The claims come on the heels of
the defendants allegedly receiving a
certified death certificate for Harrington
that listed Quaker Oats as her employer.
Hunter further alleges that the
companies have lied by claiming they
could not find any employment records
for Harrington, or images of her, yet they
had her image deposited inside the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, according
to the document.
According to the lawsuit, the
company also exploited the image
of Harrington’s daughter as well.
Harrington took on the role of the
pre-existing character of Aunt Jemima
in 1935. In 1937, the company first
registered the trademark for the brand.
She was allegedly selected because
of her own pancake recipe, which
the company recreated for the mass
market for profit.
The suit states that Quaker Oats
sought out Harrington’s youngest
daughter Olivia Hunter in 1989,
ultimately using her likeness to update
the look of Aunt Jemima. It is this image
that is used today on Aunt Jemimabranded products.
The suit further alleges a
racial element to the exploitation of
Harrington and the other women who
portrayed Aunt Jemima, going so far
as to accuse the company of theft in
procuring 64 original formulas and
22 menus from Harrington. It further
alleges that Harrington was dissuaded
from using a lawyer, exploiting her
lack of education and age, so that
the company could not pay her a
percentage of sales from her recipes.
The company continued to use
Harrington's image for years, as well as
licensing it out to other companies for
ancillary merchandise like mugs and
clothing.
The lawsuit cites Screen Actors
Guild residuals and standard policies
in the entertainment industry regarding
revenue statements, which neither
Harrington nor her heirs ever received.
It wasn't until they uncovered in 2013
that Quaker Oats had trademarked
Harrington's likeness and picture in
1937 that the family determined that
they were owed royalties.
DUKE ENERGY AWARDS $50,000
FOR EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS
AND FREE TEACHER WORKSHOPS
RALEIGH, NC - The N.C. Museum of History
announces that Duke Energy Education
Travel Grants will be available this fall to
help cover part of transportation costs to the
museum for public schools in central and
eastern North Carolina. The travel grants
are made possible by a $50,000 investment
from Duke Energy through the Duke Energy
Foundation.
In addition to transportation grants,
Duke E