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FireDevil
04-06-2011, 10:00 AM
A New Spin on Duke
Debunking the ‘Uncle Tom’ myth.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/college-hs/college/2011/04/new-spin-at-duke/

"From the time I attended Duke, it had one of the largest percentages of Black undergraduates among any of its elite institutional peers."

Olympic Fan
04-06-2011, 10:37 AM
A New Spin on Duke
Debunking the ‘Uncle Tom’ myth.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/college-hs/college/2011/04/new-spin-at-duke/

"From the time I attended Duke, it had one of the largest percentages of Black undergraduates among any of its elite institutional peers."

Excellent article, but it awoke one nagging memory that has been driving me crazy -- the mischaracterization of Harriett Beecher Stowe's character "Uncle Tom".

I'm not sure how the character came to be portrayed by Malcom X as a stereotype of a subservient black man. If you've actually read Ms. Stowe's monumental anti-slavery tract you'd know that Tom is anything BUT subservient. He first gets into trouble with his new owner Simon Legree (he's sold to Legree midway through the book) when he refuses to whip another slave. He's beaten himself, but still refuses to whip another slave. He's whipped and punished for continuing to read the Bible in defiance of Legree. He's so intrangient that in the end, he's murdered by Legree.

Does that sound like the sterotyple of an Uncle Tom?

UrinalCake
04-06-2011, 10:52 AM
The view of Duke as a predominantly white school is very much outdated. Last time I checked their admissions numbers, Duke's undergraduate population was something like 25% Asian-American, 15% African American, and around 50-60% white. It's one of the most diverse campuses in the country.

Before last year's Championship game I heard someone referring to Duke as "a bunch of white guys shooting three pointers." I retorted by showing how not only was Butler far more "white" that Duke (something like 93% of their population) but they also shot way more threes than us. But that's an issue for another thread 8-)

As far as the Uncle Tom reference, I believe that popular culture has adapted the term to mean a black person that sells out their race, who acts white or acts in a way that pleases white people. I agree that this does not fit the role of the original character of Uncle Tom, but those who use the term in this way are in line with the commonly understood meaning.

4decadedukie
04-06-2011, 10:57 AM
FireDevil - Thanks for highlighting this excellent article.
Olympic Fan - Thanks for your accurate and outstanding historical perspective.
Professor Peterson - Thanks for your superb, highly relevant article.

All of which make me glad and proud to be a Dukie.

Reilly
04-06-2011, 11:05 AM
Per wikipedia, "Uncle Tom" meaning subservient dates to the portrayals in minstrel shows. So, strong character in the novel; and then the re-telling messed with the original meaning. Probably a similar fate that many novels meet in being made into movies these days.

In order to avoid the "Uncle Tom" confusion, a friend suggested that the slur Rose probably could have used would be "oreo" (black on the outside, white on the inside; or not black enough, whatever that means). Rose would still be wrong, as Grant articulated, but at least it would avoid the historical confusion.

Lord Ash
04-06-2011, 11:33 AM
A few years back (2003 to be exact) Black Enterprise magazine ranked Duke the 12th best university for African Americans in the NATION. SEVEN of the universities ahead of Duke are traditionally African-American schools like Morehouse and Spelman, so out of "traditional" general population universities Duke is more like fifth in the COUNTRY, and Duke actually has a higher percentage population of African American students than any of those four above it.

As a Duke grad with a degree in African American Studies and who lived in the APA house, I always felt Duke has an unfair and undeserved reputation as being a somehow racist institution. I think that a mix of...

* Duke's distant past (which is similar to most Southern institutions)
* the willingness on the part of Duke students and faculty to address these issues rather than ignore them
* the racial and socio-economic make-up of the town Duke is located in compared to the make-up of the university itself
* the general jealousy and bitterness that Duke faces for being a TOP level educational institution as well as a premier athletic institution
* the general issues that exist between the perception of "education" and the African American community

have combined in a toxic stew to help create this mirage that is so popular among haters.

Great article, btw... another in a long line of intelligent and well thought out responses to the original "Uncle Tom" comment.

uh_no
04-06-2011, 12:19 PM
A New Spin on Duke
Debunking the ‘Uncle Tom’ myth.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/college-hs/college/2011/04/new-spin-at-duke/

"From the time I attended Duke, it had one of the largest percentages of Black undergraduates among any of its elite institutional peers."

While this is very very true, there is not necessarily a correlation between the general student body population and the makeup of the basketball team. he student body is 25% asian too....

Lord Ash
04-06-2011, 12:49 PM
While this is very very true, there is not necessarily a correlation between the general student body population and the makeup of the basketball team. he student body is 25% asian too....

I think a lot of people, especially Duke grads, tend to mix the two together, as Duke in general and beyond basketball has gotten something of a reputation regarding African Americans on campus.

flyingdutchdevil
04-06-2011, 12:55 PM
While this is very very true, there is not necessarily a correlation between the general student body population and the makeup of the basketball team. he student body is 25% asian too....

Definitely see what you're saying. But rarely is any sports team (basketball or football or other) representative of the student body. Just for my two cents, I thought that Jalen's statements were attacking the basketball team and not at all our student body. While I fully understand the connection between a school and its athletic program, I'm sure that many see them as separate entities. Jalen's statements were moronic, but I believe that he was attacking Coach K and black athletes on our basketball team. After all, he went to Michigan, a fantastic educational institution. He must know that Duke and Michigan are both great educational institutions and that sending your children to either is one hell of an accomplishment.

Bottomline, while I wholeheartedly disagree with what Jalen said, I don't believe that he attacked our school but the basketball program. The associated between school and athletics made it seem like he is attacking our entire student body.