General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Calling folks Uncle Toms, House Negroes, Aunt Jemima's and other similar terminology is racist. [View all]BainsBane
(57,768 posts)The academic research on the subject did not occur until after his death. Literature based on interviews with former slaves shows that house slaves wore a mask in order to placate masters. It was a survival tool because planters wanted to believe they treated slaves like family, but of course they didn't. When union troops approached during the Civil War, house slaves were often the first to flee, which showed their consciousness was quite different from what planter families believed. See Leon Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long.
Another obvious point should be it is one thing for an African American to make a comment in the 1960s and quite another for a white person in the 21st century. The same argument you are making could be used to claim the N word isn't racist, which is of course patently false.