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Uncle Tom: From Martyr to Traitor

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By Adena Spingarn ’03

Published June 13, 2018

The Uncle Tom of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel was a hero, far removed from the name used as a racial epithet today. Uncle Tom: From Martyr to Traitor (Stanford University Press) covers the ground between the two “Uncle Toms”, focusing on the adaptations and critiques of the character that led to its current connotation.

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Terri Sewell ’86 at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, stands next to a portrait of civil rights leader John Lewis.
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