This post originally appeared on http://www.savemainst.com There is a tendency, after instances of violence against black Americans at the hands … More
Category: Race
Opening Remarks at the Urban League Diversity Summit
Below you can find my opening remarks for the Urban League Diversity Summit. I didn’t change much and I only … More
Who has empathy for the victim?
“Should you go to school today?” Not too many 15 year olds are asked whether or not they should go … More
Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Uncle Toms? and Barack Obama’s one night stand.
The phrase Uncle Tom is a derogatory term that has its origins in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. While the book itself did not coin the phrase as it is used today, nevertheless the phrase Uncle Tom has found itself describing a black person that “sells out” to white people. I will leave it to individuals to define what “selling out” means as the phrase “selling out” is quite abstract and when you ask people for their definition of a “sell out” you will find many definitions. I will not offer what I perceive the definition to be because I think my definition is irrelevant in relation to this story. I shall no longer spend time going over the book or the phrase Uncle Tom. If you would like to investigate further, I strongly suggest going to a library or searching Google for the book. Now that we have a brief context of the phrase we can move on to my “Hit it and quit it” reference and then end with Steve Harvey.