Republican lawmakers in Georgia are continuing their campaign to erect a statue of one of the state’s native sons, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. However, not all of the elected officials were in favor — blasting the proposed monument characterizing him as having anti-Black leanings, and calling him an “Uncle Tom.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Georgia State Sen. Emanuel Jones was one who took the mic in the state Capitol chambers and shared his thoughts on this statute, Senate Bill 69. He noted just the conversation of sculpting the statue is an issue of race that the body “cannot avoid,” contending that although a sensitive subject, it must be broached with his colleagues.
“In the African-American community, when we talk about a person of color ([a term] that goes back historically to the days of slavery) and that person [seems to be] betraying his own community … We have a term in the Black community called ‘Uncle Tom,’” he explained.
Jones continued, “Uncle Tom is either a fictional or nonfictional character. I don’t really know the origin of Uncle Tom, but it talks about a person who back during the days of slavery sold his soul to the slave masters.”
The senator went on to explain why he and others think Thomas is an “Uncle Tom.”
“When we think about a person in the Black community, who’s accomplished, but yet policies seek to subvert (some may even say suppress) the achievements or the accomplishments of people of color,” he states. “I couldn’t help but to think about that term in expressing my dissatisfaction with this particular…
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