“Thirty
years ago, association with ‘Uncle Toms’ brought
serious social complications down on the offender.
Not in 2006.”
Well I do!
I want these male and female minstrel punks to
suffer. I want to give ordinary Blacks a tool that
can be used to build a social-psychological wall
around Blacks that willingly serve the interests
of white supremacy. Aahhhhh!!! I need inspiration.
Cold brew, CD collection (Public Enemy featuring
Paris; Last Poets; Dead Prez; Damian Marley; The
Coup; Michael Franti and Spearhead) and
cough-cough!
While I was
listening to the latest release of the
revolutionary hip-hop group, “The Coup” (Pick a
Bigger Weapon), I decided to read the CD liner
notes and came to realize that the conceptual
title was the answer. PICK A BIGGER WEAPON. The
following is my attempt to increase the heat, in
the seat, of these bLack-skinned wanna-be white
supremacists.
The
Retirement of good ol’ Uncle
Tom
Many people
use and misuse slogans without critically
analyzing the history associated with them. “Uncle
Tom” is classic.
First
Point. It must be realized that a majority
of Black people in 2006 haven’t the faintest idea
about the writer, Harriet Beecher-Stowe, and have
never read Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Second point. Uncle Tom is a
fictional character and his storybook persona was
not vile. He never betrayed anyone. He was a
law-abiding character that was non-violent, docile
and accepted his low class position. His character
had more morals than the targets of distain in the
modern day Black experience.
Third
point. When we actually had legally
segregated schools (1954 on back), the book
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was read quite regularly.
The social-educational reasons that it was read
ranged from creating non-threatening, compliant
Blacks to good historical classroom research
projects on the subject of American slavery. In
fact, the idea of using the character of “Uncle
Tom” as weapon of ridicule was created in the
classroom, by the students (social political
research has continuously proven that oppressed
societies will generate rebellious youth at a
faster rate than the adult population). In recent
decades, however, Black history has been
thoroughly evicted from many inner-city public
schools. Minus historical references or sufficient
group memory, the effectiveness of labeling
someone an “Uncle Tom” becomes problematical. We
are left without a proper weapon with which to
punish the transgressor.
“There were
attempts to draft Supreme Court Associate Justice
Clarence Thomas as the new ‘Uncle Tom’ – but that
whole marketing concept just didn’t
work.”
Not that
some of us haven’t tried to find a new “whippin’
stick” to replace “Uncle Tom.” There were attempts
to draft Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence
Thomas as the new “Uncle Tom” – but that whole
marketing concept just didn’t work. After all,
Thomas is malicious and vile, unlike the literary
Uncle Tom. The fictional “Uncle” could not and
would not take such a high position in this white
man’s government and there’s nothing in “Uncle
Tom’s” character that resembles the sheer
wickedness of Clarence Thomas. (Also, without some
reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, most Blacks will not
pick up on the concept of transference – from Tom
to Thomas).
As Boots
Riley’s friend suggested: “Time to PICK A BIGGER
WEAPON!”
“Uncle Tom” is no longer
in vogue. Nurse Eunice Rivers, the Black
villainess of the real-life Tuskegee Syphilis
Experiment,
should become the
new personification of evil, the person whose name
is synonymous with the racial Badge of Dishonor.
“Nurse Rivers” – that’s the ticket! Here’s
why:
First
point. The history of Nurse Rivers and the
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment does not bring the
complex social palette that the “Uncle Tom”
characterization presents. And far more Blacks
have some knowledge of the Tuskegee Syphilis
Experiment, than the story of Uncle Tom’s
Cabin. There was even a recent Presidential
(William Jefferson Clinton) apology to the
surviving victims.
Second Point. Nurse Rivers is
no fiction! She was real and her acts were real,
with real people affected. Her acts were vile,
malicious and premeditated. I’m aware that there
were other Blacks involved and could be used, but
her role was well defined as an agent of betrayal.
Third
Point. The decades-long story of the
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment is very involved and
brings a lot of data with it – great concepts to
inspire some African-Americans to venture down the
research path. Good training for the much-needed
Conspiracy Theorists in Black thought (conspiracy
theories are brainstorms with research). But
doesn’t the history of the Tuskegee Syphilis
Experiment and Nurse Eunice Rivers cause the same
problem as the history of Harriet Beecher-Stowe’s
book? No. Delving into the history of the Tuskegee
Experiment and Nurse Eunice Rivers can produce a
high school senior’s term paper. However, a
thirty-second explanation of the history of the
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and Nurse Eunice
Rivers is very simple to explain and just as
simple to understand.
“Far more
Blacks have some knowledge of the Tuskegee
Syphilis Experiment, than the story of Uncle Tom’s
Cabin.”
Fourth
Point. Nurse Rivers allows us to bring forward the
issue of class attitudes in Black culture. African
Americans that have achieved knowledge and
positions of influence need to be put on notice,
again. We have ceased scrutinizing our “learned”
and “well to do” Black classes. How many of these
window dressing achievers, who have no fear of an
“Uncle Tom” label, will publicly profess that they
are proud to be a “Nurse Rivers” when the real
Nurse Rivers willingly managed the infectious
poisoning of poor Black families? This scenario is
much different than “Uncle Tomin’” for personal
wealth.
In closing,
I would like to present some conceptual
slogan-like ideas for our house-cleaning
objective. Nurse Eunice Rivers’ name has symbolism
that is just too useful to ignore. Rivers, in the
geological sense, flow from one point to another
and in nature this is usually a good arrangement.
However, the nurse Rivers flows from the ocean of
white supremacy, death and despair. It is our
duty, as responsible Black people to build a dam
in front these kinds of vile Rivers. We must
harass, shame, obstruct and denounce the Cory
Booker-Rivers, the Ken Blackwell-Rivers, the T.D.
Jakes-Rivers, the Condi Rice-Rivers, etc., so they
can no longer poison our struggle for freedom,
justice and world happiness. Humiliate the “Nurse
Rivers” in our culture.
Damn Them…
Permanently!
