In the past, some black people used Uncle Tom to refer to a black man when they disapproved of him because he was too respectful or friendly towards white people.
[offensive, disapproval]
They had earlier caused yet deeper offence when referring to him as an Uncle Tom.
Uncle Tom in British English
noun
derogatory, offensive
a Black person whose behaviour towards White people is regarded as obsequious and servile
Derived forms
Uncle Tomism
noun
Word origin
C20: after the slave who is the main character of H.B. Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)
Uncle Tom in American English
US
Informal
a black whose behavior toward whites is regarded as fawning or servile
a term of contempt
Derived forms
Uncle Tomism (ˈUncle Tomˌism)
Word origin
after the main character, an elderly black slave, in Harriet Beecher Stowe's antislaverynovel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)