How to understand the history of UNCLE TOM and the rise of black on black racism

How to understand the history of UNCLE TOM and the rise of black on black racism

Everywhere we turn, this term is used to describe certain people of color, I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject. In Part 1: How to understand the history of "UNCLE TOM" and the rise of black on black racism. This two part series is the result of a conversation between myself and another young man (black) in the summer of 2013. I have been studying just that one term since then, "UNCLE TOM" how it was used in the 1800s and how we use it today. Today nobody wants to be called an Uncle Tom, but 150 years ago, it was a compliment. In Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Uncle Tom is a martyr, not a sell-out. His devotion to his fellow slaves is so unshakable that he sacrifices a chance for freedom and, ultimately, his life to help them. How did a term of high praise become the ultimate black-on-black insult? Until recently, scholars believed that "Uncle Tom" was first used as an epithet in 1919 by Rev. George Alexander McGuire, a supporter of the radical black nationalist Marcus Garvey. One of my references: http://www.theroot.com/views/w...le-t...