Who Is "Uncle Tom" And Why Is His Name Used As An Insult? (The African American Meaning of "Uncle Tom" & An Excerpt Of A 2008 NPR Show On This Topic)

Let's TEACH, Jul 5, 2021  #UncleTom #UncleTomsCabin #LetsTeach

In this video, I’ll answer the question – Who is Uncle Tom ?  First published on March 20, 1895, the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by the abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe is largely considered to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. In fact, an article published by the Boston Morning Post the year that it was released even went so far as to claim that everybody in the country had either read it, was reading it, or was about to read it.

According to popular lore, publishers had to keep 17 different printing presses running twenty-four-seven just to keep up with consumer demand for the book. In the United States alone, Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold more than 300,000 copies and went on to be regarded as the best-selling novel of the 19th century.

But as popular as this book might have been, many Black Americans have actually come to despise its titular character, Uncle Tom.

So, who exactly is Uncle Tom?

0:00 Introduction

0:18 Book Release and Success

1:13 Uncle Tom

1:38 Uncle Tom as Hero

2:00 Uncle Tom as Weak

2:28 Uncle Tom as Race Traitor

2:49 Josiah Henson

3:40 Climax of the Story

4:35 Wrapping Up

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video about the fictitious character "Uncle Tom". This post also presents a short excerpt from Wikipedia's page on Uncle Tom and a short excerpt about the fictitious character "Aunt  Jemima".

This pancocojams post also presents a long excerpt of a 2008 National Public Radio (NPR) program entitled "Why African-Americans Loathe 'Uncle Tom'. 

The content of this post is presented for historical, linguistic, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Harriet Beecher Stowe for writing the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to LET'S TEACH, the producer and publisher of the video about Uncle Tom" that is embedded in this pancocojams post.

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WIKIPEDIA EXCERPT  ABOUT UNCLE TOM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom
" Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.[1] The character was seen by many readers as a ground-breaking humanistic portrayal of a slave, one who uses nonresistance and gives his life to protect others who have escaped from slavery. However, the character also came to be seen as inexplicably kind to white slaveholders, especially based on his portrayal in pro-compassion dramatizations. This led to the use of Uncle Tom – sometimes shortened to just a Tom[2][3] – as a derogatory epithet for an exceedingly subservient person or house negro, particularly one aware of his or her own lower-class racial status."...
-snip-
The male character "Uncle Tom" is often paired with the female character "Aunt Jemima". 

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WIKIPEDIA EXCERPT ABOUT AUNT JEMIMA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jemima
"Aunt Jemima is based on the common enslaved "Mammy" archetype, a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant.[3][13] Her skin is dark and dewy, with a pearly white smile. Although depictions vary over time, they are similar to the common attire and physical features of "mammy" characters throughout American history.[24][25][26][27][28][29].

 The term "aunt" and "uncle" in this context was a Southern form of address used with older enslaved peoples. They were denied use of English honorifics, such as "mistress" and "mister".[30][31]

[...]

.Aunt Jemima embodied a post-Reconstruction fantasy of idealized domesticity, inspired by "happy slave" hospitality, and revealed a deep need to redeem the antebellum South.[35] There were others that capitalized on this theme, such as Uncle Ben's Rice and Cream of Wheat's Rastus.[31][35]

Slang

The term "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used colloquially as a female version of the derogatory epithet "Uncle Tom" or "Rastus". In this context, the slang term "Aunt Jemima" falls within the "mammy archetype" and refers to a friendly black woman who is perceived as obsequiously servile or acting in, or protective of, the interests of whites.[40]"...

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NPR EXCERPT
"Why African-Americans Loathe 'Uncle Tom'

July 30, 200812:00 PM ET

Heard on Tell Me More

Listen [audio feature given at that site]

"Folklorist Patricia Turner discusses "Uncle Tom" — the lead character in the anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe — as part of NPR's In Character series. The series examines the fictional characters who have defined American life.

MICHEL MARTIN, host:

As we've just said, the apology for slavery from the House of Representatives is just the latest public act in the century-long drama of slavery in the U.S. Fiction has shaped much of how America has viewed the lives of enslaved Americans. From "Gone to the Wind," to "Roots," to "Amistad," the public imagination has evolved from seeing slaves as happy servants to victims of history to defiant heroes who demanded that the country live up to its core beliefs.

But "Uncle Tom," is the most enduring fictional slave. He's the title character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the novel written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The bestseller was meant to rally the moral sentiments of whites against the horrors of slavery, and it succeeded. But the character of "Uncle Tom" has become e's the title character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the novel written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The bestseller was meant to rally the moral sentiments of whites against the horrors of slavery, and it succeeded. But the character of "Uncle Tom" has become synonymous with servility and self-hatred.

Today, we reexamine the character of "Uncle Tom," as part of NPR's In Character series, a look at the fictional characters who have defined American life. With us to help unravel the story of "Uncle Tom" is Patricia Turner, folklorist and professor of African-American studies at the University of California, at Davis. Welcome.

Prof. PATRICIA TURNER (African-American Studies, University of California, Davis; Folklorist): I'm glad to be here.

MARTIN: Professor Turner, it's my understanding that "Uncle Tom" was based on a real slave in Maryland named Josiah Henson. Can you tell us a little bit more about him, and how did Harriet Beecher Stowe know about him?

Prof. TURNER: Harriet Beecher Stowe was very offended by the passage of the fugitive slave bill in 1850 that required northerners who were protecting blacks from - on the Underground Railroad. It required them to return them to the South and to slavery, and she decided to write a book to combat that influence.

To do her research, she looked into slave narratives, which were accounts of very real slaves who had escaped along the Underground Railroad into freedom, one of whom was Josiah Henson. She used a variety of these texts to put together the characters in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

MARTIN: As I mentioned, the book became a bestseller. How big of a bestseller was it back in the day?

Prof. TURNER: It outsold the Bible when it was published. They had to keep the printing presses open 24 hours a day. It's commonly called "the first bestseller," because there had been nothing like this in popular literature prior to "Uncle Tom's MARTIN: You wrote a book about black images and their influence on culture. How much of an influence is "Uncle Tom" on today's culture? Can you give us a sense of just how much - I mean, let's set aside the whole stereotype, pejorative aspect of it, but just as a story. How important is it in the culture?

Prof. TURNER: If you look at the history of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," it's a widely successful book in the 1850s. By the late 1850s, producers of dramatic stage shows, minstrel shows, had embraced it and were starting to stage "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in theaters throughout the United States, throughout England, really throughout the world.

By the turn of the 20th century, Thomas Alva Edison films "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to experiment with film. It's one of the very first things that we have on film, and throughout the rest of the 20th century, we've got classic comic books, we've got cartoons, we've got stage shows.

When Showtime emerges as a cable channel, one of the first things it does is "Uncle Tom's Cabin." So it's had an enormous impact for the past, you know, 120 years.

[…]

MARTIN: What is it that African-Americans hate about this story?

Prof. TURNER: Many African-Americans don't hate the real story that Stowe wrote. The Uncle Tom character that she gives us is extraordinarily Christian. The climax of the story really comes when Uncle Tom is asked to reveal where two slave women are hiding, who had been sexually abused by their master. And he refuses. Knowing that he is going to be beaten to death, he refused to say where they are. And African-Americans who have read the novel can appreciate what kind of heroism that took for a black man to sign away his life to save two black women.

Unfortunately, the stage depictions don't include that part of the story. They grossly distort Uncle Tom into an older man than he is in the novel, a man whose English is poor, a man who will do quite the opposite, who will sell out any black man if it will curry the favor of a white employer, a white master, a white mistress. It's that distorted character that is so objectionable to African-Americans.”….
-snip-
A portion of this show refers to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas being referred to as an Uncle Tom. Another contemporary African American man who is referred to as an Uncle Tom is Tim Scott, United States Senator, (Republican: South Carolina). Click https://newrepublic.com/post/175832/tim-scott-slavery-welfare-black-americans-republican-debate for a September 28, 2023 article about Tim Scott entitled "Tim Scott Suggests Slavery Wasn’t As Bad as Welfare for Black Americans."

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visiting comments are welcome.

How "Aunt Jemima" Pancake & Syrup Products Got That Name (The 19th century song "Old Aunt Jemima")

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- April 15, 2021

This pancocojams post provides information about how the Aunt Jemima pancake and syrup products got that name.

This post also provides text examples of the 19th century American song "Old Aunt Jemima".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners

Thanks to all those who collected these songs. Thanks also to all who are quoted in this page.
-snip-
Click for the closely related pancocojams post entitled 

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CONTENT UPDATE (April 15, 2021)
From https://wiki2.org/en/Aunt_Jemima
"Aunt Jemima is a brand of pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast foods. The pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and advertised as the first ready-mix.[1][2] The Aunt Jemima character is based on the enslaved "Mammy" archetype.[3][4] The "Aunt Jemima Doctrine" in US trademark law originates in a 1915 case between the pancake mix company and an unrelated seller of pancake syrup. The brand has been owned by the Quaker Oats Company since 1926.[2]

Nancy Green portrayed Aunt Jemima at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, one of the first Black corporate models in the United States.[1] Subsequent advertising agencies hired dozens of actors to perform the role as the first organized sales promotion campaign.[5]

Since its debut, the character has been criticized as an example of exploited African American women. "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used as a female version of the derogatory epithet "Uncle Tom" or "Rastus". In June 2020, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand would be retired "to make progress toward racial equality."[6] They subsequently announced in February 2021 that the line will be re-branded in June 2021 as Pearl Milling Company after the original owners of the pancake mix.[7]
-snip-
This is the end of this April 15, 2021 content update.

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THE MEANINGS OF THE NAME "JEMIMA"  
The female name "Jemima" means "dove" in Hebrew and "little dove" in Arabic.

Also, "Jemimah" was the name of the first daughter of  Job (in the Holy Bible):

Job 42:14-15 New International Version (NIV)

"The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers".

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THE MEANING OF THE TITLE "AUNT" FOR BLACK WOMEN IN 19TH CENTURY UNITED STATES"
In the 19th century the title "Aunt" was used in the United States for elderly Black women in place of the title "Mrs." since "Mrs" was reserved for White women only.

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INFORMATION & EXAMPLES OF "OLD AUNT JEMIMA"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Aunt_Jemima
"Old Aunt Jemima" was a popular American song composed by African American comedian, songwriter and minstrel show performer Billy Kersands (c. 1842–1915). The Old Aunt Jemima song was the inspiration for the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes, as well as several characters in film, television and on radio named "Aunt Jemima".

Kersands wrote his first version of "Old Aunt Jemima" in 1875. It was to become Kersands' most popular song. Robert Toll claimed that Kersands had performed this song over 2000 times by 1877.[1] There were at least 3 different sets of "Old Aunt Jemima" lyrics by 1889.[2]

Often "Old Aunt Jemima" would be sung while a man in drag playing the part of Aunt Jemima performed on stage. It was not uncommon for the Aunt Jemima character to be played by a white man in blackface.[2][3]

Other minstrels incorporated Aunt Jemima into their acts, so Aunt Jemima became a common figure in minstrelsy. Other songs about Aunt Jemima were composed, such as "Aunt Jemima Song" and "Aunt Jemima's Picnic Day".[2]

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From http://black-face.com/billy-kersands.htm
..."Billy Kersands was the most popular minstrel star and the highest paid black entertainer of the era, earning as much as one hundred dollars a week---a lot of money in the 1870s and 1880s. Kersands was a comedian who enjoyed entertaining the public. But his real forte was dancing. He was credited as being the first dancer to introduce the "soft-shoe" dance, and the "buck and wing." He was also instrumental in introducing the African-American "clog-dance."

Perhaps the most enduring “mammy” icon is Aunt Jemima. Billy Kersands, a black minstrel performer, wrote the song “Aunt Jemima” for a white minstrel artist in 1875. The song was performed in 1889 with a man named Chris Rutt in the audience. Rutt, seeing an opportunity for commercializing the Aunt Jemima character, went on to trademark the name and sold it to The Davis Company. Davis eventually hired a former enslaved woman named Nancy Green to sell their company’s pancakes at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The "mammy" icon of Aunt Jemima has lived far beyond the minstrel song.

"He began entertaining in the South, probably before the Civil War and remained a working entertainer for more than 60 years, most of them spent in minstrelsy.

Kersands' popularity with Southern black audiences was unsurpassed, and he demonstrated that a nineteenth-century black entertainer could become rich and famous...

So successful was Billy that he and [his wife] Louise [toured for their minstrel company's performances] throughout the heartland of the USA in their private railway car, and they and their company were booked in Europe during much of the 1907-09 period, which included a command performance for Queen Victoria."...

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TEXT EXAMPLES OF "AUNT JEMIMA"
These examples are presented in chronological order based on the example's collection or original publication.

Example #1:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Aunt_Jemima

[Note this page indicates that Billy Kersands composed "Aunt Jemina" as early as 1875. However, this may not be the earliest version of that song.]

"OLD AUNT JEMIMA
One version of "Old Aunt Jemima" began with a stanza expressing dissatisfaction with the dullness of worship services in white churches, such as a complaint about the length of the prayers. The song ended with the following two stanzas:

The monkey dressed in soldier clothes,
Old Aunt Jemima, etc.
Went out in the woods for to drill some crows,
Old etc.
The jay bird hung on a swinging limb.
Old etc.
I up with a stone and hit him on the shin.
Old etc.

Oh, Carline, oh, Carline,
Can't you dance the bee line
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

The bullfrog married the tadpole's sister,
Old etc.
He smacked his lips and then he kissed her,
Old etc.
She says if you love me as I love you,
Old etc.
No knife can cut out love in two.
Old etc.

Some variants of the song substituted "pea-vine" for "bee line". Another version included the verse:

My old missus promise me,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
When she died she-d set me free,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
She lived so long her head got bald,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
She swore she would not die at all,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh![2]

Sterling Stuckey [cultural historian and author of the 1988 book Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America] maintains that Kersands did not write all of these lyrics, but adapted many of them from "slave songs" (such as field hollers and work songs).[2]"
-snip-
Here's a comment (from the Mudcat folk music forum discussion thread whose link is given below) about the "My old massa promised me/when I die, he'll set me free" verse:
"The 'promised me' verse in various forms appears in minstrel songs as early as 1845.
Massa and misse promised me
When they died they'd set me free
Massa and misse dead and gone
Here's old Sambo hillin' up corn."

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Example #2:
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128733 "Lyr Add: Old Aunt Jemima & Aunt Jemima's Plaster" [hereafter known as Mudcat: Aunt Jemima"], posted by Q, 10 Apr 10 - 04:30 PM

"OLD AUNT JEMIMA
(Words and music James Grace, 1876)

1
I went to de church de other night,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
To hear de colored folks sing and pray,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
Old Pomp got tight, and Dinah walk along,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
And made old Gumbo sing a song,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

Chorus
Car'line, Car'line, can't you dance de peavine,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

2
Dar was a bullfrog dressed in soldier clothes
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
He went out to drill dem crows,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
But de bullfrog he made such a mighty splutter,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
Dat I up wid my foot and kicked him in de water,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
3
I carried a hen coop on my knee,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
'Twas nothing but a rooster saying his prayers,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
He gave out a hymn, such a getting up stairs,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

Many verses, often floaters, linked by 'Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!, sung by various minstrel groups.

Verses above by James Grace, for banlo [sic] accompaniment by George C. Dobson.
Sheet music 1876, John F. Perry & Co., Boston.
American Memory."
-snip-
Notice that although documentation now credits the first version of this minstrel song to African American entertainer Billy Kersands, various White men, inluding James Grace, copyrighted versions of that song.

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Example #3
AUNT JEMIMA
From Thomas W. Talley [editor], Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise, originally published in 1922, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm The Project Gutenberg EBook of Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes [p. 107]

OLD AUNT JEMIMA
OLE Aunt Jemima grow so tall,
Dat she couldn' see de groun'.
She stumped her toe, an' down she fell
From de Blackwoods clean to town.

W'en Aunt Jemima git in town,
An' see dem "tony" ways,
She natchully faint an' back she fell
To de Backwoods whar she stays.
-snip-
This version documents the disdain that African Americans who lived in the city had for African Americans who lived in the country. "Tony" here means "citified", "snobbish", and "snotty".

Similar attitudes of disdain for rural Americans is reflected in White depictions of "hillbillies". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/shared-steroptypes-for-hillbillies.html for the pancocojams post "The Shared Steroptypes For Hillbillies & African Americans".

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Example #4
From Mudcat: Aunt Jemima, posted by Joe Offer, 14 Apr 10 - 03:51 AM

Margaret MacArthur sang it to the tune of "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

AUNT JEMIMA

Aunt Jemina climb a tree
She had a stick to boost her,
There she sat a-shelling corn
For our old bob tailed rooster.

CHORUS
Humpty Doodle skiddlebing
Humpty Doodle Daddy,
Humpty Doodle skiddlebing
Wax for Torttle-addy

Corn cobs will twist your hair
Cart wheels around you,
Fiery dragons scare you off
And mortar pestles pound you.
CHORUS

Aunt Jemima's dead and gone
It's hard to tell the story,
They put the plaster on her back
And threw her up to glory.
CHORUS

Sheepskin, bees wax
Makes the sticky plaster,
The more we try to pull it off,
The harder it sticks the faster.
CHORUS

Tune: Yankee Doodle Dandy
From the singing of Mrs. Austin Nichols, Guilford, Vermont; verses three and four from Jean Chase, Putney, Vermont.

Source:
Album notes from Folksongs of Vermont, a Folkways LP by Margaret MacArthur.
-snip-
Notice that this example includes a verse of the "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" song.

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

19th Century & 20th Century Examples Of "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" ("Sheepskin And Beeswax")

Edited by Azizi Powell


Latest revisions- April 15, 2021

This pancocojams post provides information and examples of the song "Aunt Jemima's Plaster". This song is also known by the title "Sheepskin And Beeswax" and by the title "Bees wax".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this page and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-aunt-jemima-got-her-name-19th.html How "Aunt Jemima" Pancake & Syrup Products Got That Name (The 19th century song "Old Aunt Jemima")

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CONTENT UPDATE (April 15, 2021)
From https://wiki2.org/en/Aunt_Jemima
"Aunt Jemima is a brand of pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast foods. The pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and advertised as the first ready-mix.[1][2] The Aunt Jemima character is based on the enslaved "Mammy" archetype.[3][4] The "Aunt Jemima Doctrine" in US trademark law originates in a 1915 case between the pancake mix company and an unrelated seller of pancake syrup. The brand has been owned by the Quaker Oats Company since 1926.[2]

Nancy Green portrayed Aunt Jemima at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, one of the first Black corporate models in the United States.[1] Subsequent advertising agencies hired dozens of actors to perform the role as the first organized sales promotion campaign.[5]

Since its debut, the character has been criticized as an example of exploited African American women. "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used as a female version of the derogatory epithet "Uncle Tom" or "Rastus". In June 2020, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand would be retired "to make progress toward racial equality."[6] They subsequently announced in February 2021 that the line will be re-branded in June 2021 as Pearl Milling Company after the original owners of the pancake mix.[7]
-snip-
This is the end of this April 15, 2021 content update.

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THE MEANINGS OF THE NAME "JEMIMA"
The female name "Jemima" means "dove" in Hebrew and "little dove" in Arabic.

Also, "Jemimah" was the name of the first daughter of  Job (in the Holy Bible):

Job 42:14-15 New International Version (NIV)
"The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers".

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THE MEANING OF THE TITLE "AUNT" FOR BLACK WOMEN IN 19TH CENTURY UNITED STATES"

In the 19th century the title "Aunt" was used in the United States for elderly Black women in place of the title "Mrs." since "Mrs" was reserved for White women only.

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THE MEANING OF THE WORD "PLASTER" IN THE SONG "AUNT JEMIMA'S PLASTER"
In the context of the song "Aunt Jemima's Plaster", "plaster" refers to "a pastelike mixter applied to the body for medicinal purposes..."
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plaster
-snip-
Adhesive bandages have largely replaced the use of plasters as described in the song "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" (and other songs that mention medicinal plasters).
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesive_bandage
"An adhesive bandage, also called a sticking plaster (and also known by the genericized trademarks Band-Aid or Elastoplast) is a small dressing used for injuries not serious enough to require a full-size bandage. "Bandage" or "Band-Aid" is the common American English term, while "plaster" is the term in British English usage...

History
The sticking plaster is a development from previous dressings such as the court plaster. The court plaster is a cloth coated with an adhesive substance (typically isinglass or glycerin on silk) used to cover superficial wounds or for cosmetic purposes. The name is due to the use by ladies of the court in the mid 1700s to create artificial beauty marks."

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INFORMATION ABOUT & TEXT EXAMPLES OF THE SONG "AUNT JEMIMA'S PLASTER"
These excerpts are given in no particular order.

From Google Books: The Alabama Folk Lyric: A Study in Origins and Media of Dissemination edited by Ray Broadus Browne
(p. 314)
"This comic song [Aunt Jemima's Plaster) dates back to Negro minstrelsy of the 1850s and was circulated in various forms. What may have been a later version was attributed to H. Devine and sung by Frank Moran (Moran’s Songster, N.Y., 1871, p. 13.) I quote two of six stanzas (the others are not very similar, and the chorus.

Oh, white folks, now I’ll sing to you about my Aunt Jemima
She used to make de best of plaster
Down in ole Carolina.

[Chorus]
Sheep skin, bees wax
‘Gundy pitch and plaster
The more you try to pull it off
The more it sticks de faster

Uncle Tom, he caught a cold,
I really don’t know how sirs
The put the plaster on his head
And drawed him out his trousers.

One version or another appeared in numerous songsters"...
-snip-
"Songsters" is a no longer used term for books that contained the words of various songs. Often the musical scores of those featured songs were also included in those books.

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From Google Books: Folk Songs of Middle Tennessee: The George Boswell Collection edited by Charles K. Wolfe
(pp.130-131)
"[The] Minstrel song called “Bees Wax” introduced by famed singer/composer Daniel Emmett (1840-1850) was very popular during the Civil War.

By 1910, collectors were finding folk versions of it in North Carolina’ oral traditions

One example sung by Mrs R. Lynn Farrar, Nashville, on July 4, 1950, probably learned from her mother:
[given with musical score]

Aunt Jemima was very old, but very kind and clever
She had a notion of her own that she would marry never
She said that she would live in peace and none would be her master
She made a living day by day by selling of a plaster.

Refrain:
Sheepskin and beeswax made this awful plaster.
The more you try to pull it off, the more it sticks the faster.

2. She had a sister very tall and if she kept on growing ,
She might have been a giant now, in fact there is no knowing.
All of a sudden she became of her height the master
And all because on each foot Jemima put a plaster.
Refrain

3. There was a thief both night and day kept stealing from the neighbors,
But none could find the rascal out with all their tricks and labors.
She set a trap upon her step and caught him with a plaster
The more he tried to get away, the more he stuck the faster.

Refrain

4. Her neighbor had a Thomas cat that ate like any glutton,
It never caught a mouse or rat, but stole both milk and mutton.
To keep it home, she tried her best, but ne’er could be its master
Until she stuck it to the floor, with Aunt Jemima’s plaster.

Refrain

5. Aunt Jemima had a dog, his tail was short and stumpy.
She put a plaster on his back, and drawed him to a monkey.
Aunt Jemima had a cat, we thought that we would fool her
We wrapped a plaster round each paw, she danced the hula hula.

Refrain
6. Now if you have a dog, cat, a husband, wife, or lover,
That you should wish to keep at home, this plaster just discover.
And if you wish to live in peace, avoiding all disaster,
Take my advice, and try the strength of Aunt Jemima’s plaster.

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TEXT EXAMPLE OF ANOTHER VERSION OF "AUNT JEMIMA'S PLASTER"
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128733
"Lyr Add: Old Aunt Jemima & Aunt Jemima's Plaster", posted by Q, 10 Apr 10

SHEEPSKIN, BEESWAX
19th. C. songsheet

Now I'm gwine to sing a song
'Bout old Aunt Jemima,
Who used to make the Blister Plaster,
Down in North Carolina.

Chorus-
Sheepskin, beeswax,
Bergindy pitch and plaster,
The more you try to pull it off,
It only sticks the faster.

2
Old Aunt Jemima had a dog,
His tail was rather stumpy,
She put the plaster on his back,
And draw'd him to a monkey.
3
She bought a box of blacking,
So big, or a little bigger,
She put de plaster on de box
And draw'd it to a ni--ger*.
4
She had a horse and cart,
They stalled upon de level,
She put de plaster on de cart
And draw'd 'em to de debble.**
5
Old Aunt Jemima's dead and gone,
You mayn't believe the story,
Dey put de plaster on her head,
And draw'd her up to glory.

J. Andrews, No. 38, Chatham St., N. Y.
American Memory.
-snip-
*”n word” fully spelled out

**"debble" = devil
-snip-
That Mudcat thread also includes other text examples of "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" as well as text examples of other 19th century minstrel songs that refer to "Aunt Jemima".

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FEATURED VIDEOS OF "AUNT JEMIMA'S PLASTER

Example #1: Early Skyland Scotty - Aunt Jemima's Plaster (1934)



mrblindfreddy9999 Published on May 29, 2013

Recorded 23 March 1934 Chicago, IL -- Skyland Scotty aka Scott Wiseman (vcl/gt),Tommy Faile (rh/gt),David Johnson (violin,mandolin,dobro),Kevin Grant (bass/harmonica),Jimmie Wiseman (fiddle),Wayne (Skeeter) Haas (bass),Jerry Whitley (mandolin)...

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Example #1: Aunt Jemima - a song for soothing a child who needs a plaster



Dany Rosevear, Published on Dec 6, 2012

A traditional resource for children, teachers, carers, parents and grandparents

This is a song I enjoyed singing at school especial;ly when a child grazed a knee. ...
-snip-
Here's my transcription of that video:
The woman talking:
"Hello. [holding a small stuffed tiger]. Tiger skinned his knee and needs someone to look after it. I think I shall call for my aunt Jemima.

Jemima!

[woman begins singing]

Now I'm going to sing to you,
About my Aunt Jemima.
She makes plaster of the best,
Down in Carolina,

Sheepskin and the bees good wax,
Thunderpitch for plaster,
If you try to pull it off,
It will stick the faster.

Skinna-ma-lick my die-dle down,
Skinna-ma-lick my die doe,
Skinna-ma-lick my didle down,
Skinna-ma-lick my die doe.

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Rush Limbaugh's Calling African Americans Who Voted For Thad Cochran "Uncle Toms"- Did He Correctly Use That Term?

Edited by Azizi Powell

I happened to read an article about Republican radio commenter Rush Limbaugh's use of the term "Uncle Tom" in his show today to refer to African Americans who voted for Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran in his run off election with state Senator Chris McDaniels. I wondered if Limbaugh and his listeners know what "Uncle Tom" means when it is used to refer to a Black man or a Black woman. And if so, I wonder if Limbaugh correctly Limbaugh used that term.

Here's an excerpt of that article:
From http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/tea-party-chris-mcdaniel-voter-fraud-democrats-black-voters-thad-cochran "Conservative Freakout Blames 'Uncle Tom' And Voter Fraud For McDaniel Loss" by Daniel Strauss – June 25, 2014, 3:09 PM EDT
"Some conservatives aren't happy that their preferred candidate, state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) lost to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) in the runoff of the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Mississippi. Many tea party types are openly speculating foul play and that Democrats and black voters were involved. Take Rush Limbaugh who wondered if Cochran's campaign slogan in Mississippi over the last few days was "Uncle Toms for Thad."

"I wonder what the campaign slogan was in Mississippi the past few days, 'Uncle Toms for Thad'? Because I thought it was the worst thing you could do as an African American, vote for a Republican. The worst thing you could do," Limbaugh said on Wednesday. "But somehow they were made to believe that voting for old Thad would be fine and dandy. And why? Because they were told Thad's done a lot for black people in Mississippi. Must be the first time they were told that."

Cochran's turnaround victory in the race on Tuesday was immediately met with criticism by McDaniel and tea partiers over his strategy of reaching out to not only Republicans but also Democrats and African-Americans, a move that dismayed tea partiers but isn't illegal under Mississippi's open primary laws.”...
-snip-
Putting aside whether or not it is true that "the worst thing you could do as an African American [is to] vote for a Republican", notice that Limbaugh said that the reason why African Americans voted for Republican Thad Cochran was "Because they were told Thad's done a lot for black people in Mississippi."

Putting aside whether or not what Limbaugh said is true and the fact that in an open primary Black all people have the right to vote for whomever they choose, does an African American doing something that they feel would benefit a lot of black people fit the definition of an Uncle Tom?

NO!

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WHAT "UNCLE TOM" MEANS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom
"Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The phrase "Uncle Tom" has also become an epithet for a person who is slavish and excessively subservient to perceived authority figures, particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people; or any person perceived to be a participant in the oppression of their own group.[1][2] The negative epithet is the result of later works derived from the original novel."
-snip-
While "Tom" is a male name, since at least the 1980s the phrase "Uncle Tom" can refer to Black females as well as Black males. However, the term "Aunt Jemima" is also sometimes used as a referent for female "Uncle Toms".

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WHAT AUNT JEMIMA MEANS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jemima
"Aunt Jemima is a brand of pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast foods currently owned by the Quaker Oats Company of Chicago. The trademark dates to 1893, although Aunt Jemima pancake mix debuted in 1889. The Quaker Oats Company first registered the Aunt Jemima trademark in April 1937.[1] Aunt Jemima originally came from a minstrel show as one of their pantheon of stereotypical African American characters. Aunt Jemima appears to have been a postbellum addition to that cast...

Slang
The term "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used colloquially as a female version of the derogatory label "Uncle Tom". In this context, the slang term "Aunt Jemima" falls within the "Mammy archetype" and refers to a friendly black woman who is perceived as obsequiously servile or acting in, or protective of, the interests of whites.[17] The 1950s television show Beulah came under fire for depicting a "mammy"-like black maid and cook who was somewhat reminiscent of Aunt Jemima."
-snip-
Also read this excerpt from my pancocojams post on "Puttin On The Black" ("puttin on the black" is my term for Black people purposely using forms of "Black talk" online): http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/puttin-on-black-online-black-talk-code.html "Puttin On The Black - Online Black Talk & Code Switching"
"The use of the retired referent for African Americans "negro" deserves special attention.
When contemporary (particularly post 1970s) African Americans use the word "negro" as a referent for any other Black person they are purposely insulting that person by inferring that he or she is acting in ways that are the same as or similar to "Uncle Toms". "Uncle Toms" and their female counterparts "Aunt Jemimas" are Black people who act obsequiously towards White people who are in authority. Those actions by those Black people work against the well being of other Black people. However, the Uncle Toms (and Aunt Jemimas) may believe and usually do believe that they are acting in ways that benefit themselves as individuals.

While the referent "negro" is especially potent when the "n" is spelled with a lower case letter, when that word is spelled with an upper case "N" it has nearly the same meaning. Calling someone an "Uncle Tom" or an "Aunt Jemima" can have the same meaning as the word "negro" or "Negro".

Bottom line - while the use of the words "negro", "Uncle Tom" and/or "Aunt Jemima" by Black people online to describe other Black folks may be examples of "puttin on the Black", that communication is usually highly insulting. In contrast, many online instances of “putting on the black” appear to be playful. And a Black person being called an "Uncle Tom" is never considered something playful."
-snip-
Returning to Limbaugh's use of the term "Uncle Toms" to refer to African Americans who voted for Mississippi Republican Senator Thad Cochran, what other reasons could those Black voters have had to vote for Cochran? Maybe their vote for Cochran was, at least in part, a vote against Cochran's opponent. Here are two comments about that Senate primary run-off from the Democratic political blog "Daily Kos"
From http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/24/1309376/-Thad-Cochran-survives-thanks-to-Democrats Tue Jun 24, 2014 at 08:31 PM PDT. "Thad Cochran survives thanks to Democrats" by kos

[a tongue in cheek reference by a state Senator Chris McDaniels' supporter to a newspaper photograph of Senator Cochran shaking a Black man's hand]

"OMG look at Senator Cochran
Shaking hands with a BLACK person! In all seriousness Cochran played things very well the past week. McDaniel supporters made a colossal mistake with the "poll watcher" fiasco. African-Americans in Mississippi reacted predictably to what was obviously an attempt at voter suppression."
by ChadmanFL on Tue Jun 24, 2014 at 08:35:44 PM PDT
**
I must agree. If AAs went to the polls today, it was a proper response to Teabaggers using the voter suppression card to get their candidate on the ballot. Seriously do they not know their history in Mississippi of all places? That is not a tiger you want to poke..."
by Hushes on Tue Jun 24, 2014 at 09:04:39 PM PDT
-snip-
There are other comments on that blog post and throughout the Internet that refer to Senator Chris McDaniels as an out and out racist. But regardless of that, if his actions were against the best interest of Black people and they voted for his opponent, they certainly weren't acting like "Uncle Toms".

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FEATURED VIDEOS
These two videos are presented for their historical and cultural value, and not because I agree or disagree with their content.

Steve Harvey Calls Tavis Smiley & Cornel West Uncle Toms For Criticizing Obama



ChasinDatPaperMedia, August 10, 2011
-SNIP-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3K1ZQlWkUU for a lengthy summary statement.

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Cornel West Calls Out Uncle Tom Herman Cain



ExposingUncleToms, October 13, 2011

Cornel West and Tavis Smiley call out this Token Sellout Cain for calling the Wall Street protestors anti-Americans.

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All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and the publishers of these featured videos.

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