Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Editor's Picks
Editor's PicksList

9 Black Celebs Malcolm X Would Call Modern Day Uncle Toms

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: | Updated on February 17, 2018 CommentsComments (181)

Sheryl Underwood
In an encore presentation of her CBS show The Talk that aired Aug. 30, Underwood railed against “nappy” “Afro” hair during a discussion about Project Runway host Heidi Klum saving her children’s hair after it had been cut. Klum and her former husband, black British singer Seal, have children with “huge Afros,”according to Underwood.

Upon hearing that Klum saves their hair, Underwood responded, “Why would you save Afro hair?” She went on to imply that no one wants to save black people’s hair, adding that you never hear of a woman in a beauty shop asking for that “curly, nappy, beady” hair.

In contrast, Underwood praised her white co-host for saving her child’s hair because it was probably “some beautiful, long silky stuff.”

Bill Cosby

Actor-comedian Bill Cosby’s consistent effort to heap blame on poverty-stricken African-Americans for their plight without giving equal acknowledgment to the role of institutional racism, would likely qualify him as an Uncle Tom.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top