Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom is a pejorative for an African American who is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to white American authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation. The term "Uncle Tom" comes from the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, although there is debate over whether the character himself is deserving of the pejorative attributed to him. Stowe never meant Uncle Tom to be a derided character, but the term as a pejorative has developed based on how later versions of the character, stripped of his strength, were depicted on stage.[1]
Notable controversial users
In 1973 Mohammad Ali attacked his long time friend, Joe Frazier as an "Uncle Tom" saying he held him in lower regard than he did white people. This was done despite the fact that Joe Frazier had supported Ali both financially and vocally after Ali was banned from boxing and stripped of his title for refusing to serve in the military during the Vietnam War.
During a 1995 game between the New Jersey Nets and the Utah Jazz, Nets' forward Derrick Coleman called the Jazz's Karl Malone, a conservative Republican off the court, an "Uncle Tom."[2][3][4]
In 2008, the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown referred to some Asians and Blacks who supported the British Conservative Party as "Uncle Toms."[5]
In 2008, Illinois Senate President Emil Jones allegedly called Delmarie Cobb of Chicago an "Uncle Tom" due to Cobb speaking out in support of Hillary Clinton.[6]
On election night 2008, Ralph Nader said about Barack Obama, "To put it very simply, he is our first African-American president, or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he's going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations who are running America into the ground."[7]
See also
- House Negro
- Beulah (series)
- Blackface
- Jump Jim Crow
- List of ethnic slurs
- Nigga
- Race traitor
- self-hating Jew
References
- ^ Keyes, Allison (2002-11-29). "NPR : A New Look at 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'". The Tavis Smiley Show. NPR. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ^ "New Jersey Nets forward Derrick Coleman calls Utah Jazz's forwards Karl Malone an Uncle Tom". Jet. 1995-04-03. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ Mike Wise (1995-03-17). "PRO BASKETBALL; Coleman Speaks, And Beard Cringes". New York Times. p. Section B, Page 15. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ "Campaign Contribution Search: Karl Malone".
- ^ Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin (2008-06-02). "Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: A lament for the death of the left as a political force". The Independent.
- ^ Abdon Pallasch and David McKinney (2008-08-25). "Delegate says Jones called her 'Uncle Tom'". Chicago Sun Times.
- ^ "KTRH interview with Ralph Nader (web audio)". 2008-11-04.
- Osofsky, Gilbert, ed. (1969). Puttin' On Ole Massa: The Slave Narratives of Henry Bibb, William Wells Brown, and Solomon Northup. Harper & Row. ASIN B0006BZ59E ISBN 978-0061314322.
- Mohammad Ali. Thrilla in Manilla (Documentary). USA: HBO.
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