Uncle Tom #1054
$ 8.00
Caption from poster__
" Uncle Tom say
only you can prevent
ghetto fires. "
What we've made of Uncle Tom the 150 years since it burst onto the American scene, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been credited with starting everything from the Civil War to the culture wars. In the 1960s, when Muhammad Ali's African American opponents in the ring insisted on calling him Cassius Clay and refused to address him by his new Muslim name, Ali fought back with words, as well as, punches. As he pummeled them, he would shout: "Uncle Tom, what's my name? " Today, the term "Uncle Tom" is still considered a strong insult among African Americans. Earlier this year, two African American authors published The American Directory of Certified Uncle Toms: Being a Review of the History, Antics, and Attitudes of Handkerchief Heads, Aunt Jemimas, Head Negroes in Charge, and House Negroes Against the Freedom Aims of the Black Race. In the book, Richard Laurence and James Lowe charge a number of prominent African Americans (including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Secretary of State Colin Powell) with being "Uncle Toms", or traitors to their race.