Business & Tech

Salem Ice Cream Parlor Reopens Debate: Sprinkles Or Jimmies?

New Englanders have long called chocolate sprinkles on ice cream cones "jimmies." But is the term racist?

In New England, rainbow sprinkle are called "sprinkles," but chocolate sprinkles are often called "jimmies," a term that may - or may not - have racist connotations.
In New England, rainbow sprinkle are called "sprinkles," but chocolate sprinkles are often called "jimmies," a term that may - or may not - have racist connotations. (Shutterstock / Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH)

SALEM, MA — The rest of the country may call the little bits of chocolate on a scoop of ice cream chocolate sprinkles, but in New England, they have long been known as "jimmies."

But the national conversation around race has reopened a long-simmering debate in these parts: Is the term "jimmies" racist? One Salem ice cream seller isn't taking any chances.

"The term 'jimmies' has been used in New England for decades, and is believed to have racist roots. We had removed the term from our menu a couple years ago, and wanted to announce it formally," Dairy Witch in Salem said in a Facebook message to customers Sunday. "It is such a small change to use 'sprinkles' instead, but it’s a positive change, and we know you all will agree!"

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If only they all would agree. Less than 24 hours and 668 Facebook comments later, many of which attacked Dairy Witch, Dairy Witch may have regretted the decision to go public with the name change. "Phew, who knew so many people would be so offended by us announcing the possibility of racist roots of a word that has been used for an ice cream topping?!" the Boston Street business said.

Officially, the claim that the word jimmies is racist is "unproven," according to Snopes, the fact-checking Website that tries to confirm or disprove rumors. "No valid reason exists to suppose that 'jimmies' carries a racist meaning or had a racially-charged origin. However, it’s difficult to definitively disprove the claim because the term’s entry into the English language is downright murky," Snopes concluded.

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The brown color and the perceived allusion to Jim Crow, the title character in a well-known minstrel song of the 1830s, gave rise to the argument that the term was racist. That debate may be even harder to end than the debate over who invented chocolate sprinkles as an ice cream topping and who gave it the potentially racist name.

Just Born, which today makes Peeps and Mike & Ike candies, claims they invented thr product and gave it the name jimmies in 1923. But newspaper advertisements show a Nashua, NH company was selling jimmies as early as 1921. By 1928, a company in Pittsburgh was selling a laxative of "tasty Swiss-like milk chocolate sprinkles" and claiming it had given "Thousands of Pennsylvanians...the Glorious Complexion of a Regulated Body," Snopes said.

And that, ultimately, was the point Dairy Witch said it was trying to make with its Facebook post.

"This announcement was so we can spread the word that, although many stories exists for how the term came to be, we ultimately cannot prove 100% that it is NOT RACIST. Everyone making this into a frenzy of negativity is totally missing the point," Dairy Witch said in its follow-up Facebook post. "The point is: this word has existed for a long time, with a 'grey area' for how it came to be, and we would like to speak up so that those who would be interested in not using it, just like us, can do so."

Hey Dairy Witch Fam! We wanted to have a convo about something important. The term “jimmies” has been used in New...
Posted by Dairy Witch Ice Cream on Sunday, July 5, 2020

Dave Copeland covers Salem and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).


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