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The Real "Uncle Tom"
We
often use words and terms without knowing the true meaning or origin. This story was sent to me by one of our readers. Josiah Henson (1789-1883) as a fugitive slave, led over 100 slaves from the South to freedom in Canada using the Underground Railroad. Author, Harriet Beecher Stowe immortalized Josiah by using his real life exploits depicted in his 1849 autobiography, and stories that he told her, to develop the fictional character "Tom" in her famous Pre Civil War novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The popular novel motivated many to fight to abolish slavery in the U.S.A. It also prompted many" Uncle Tom" Minstrel shows where white actors would portray "Tom" in black face as a weak man who bowed down and gave in to everything the white man said. Many laughed , but it caused embarrassment to proud African Americans who were standing in the rear of those audiences. Those black faced minstrel characterizations of "Tom" have led to the present-day stigma attached to the use of the term "Uncle Tom", more than how "Tom" was depicted in Ms. Stowe's book or how the heroic Rev. Josiah Henson lived his remarkable life. Moreover, Josiah was an abolitionist, educator, businessman and soldier. He co- founded a Canadian town named Dawn which is now Dresden, Ontario. He was a guest of Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle (1877) and of U. S. President Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House (1878). He died in 1883, five years later, at age 94. His many noteworthy achievements resulted in his being the first African American depicted on the Canadian stamp (1983).
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