--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have the upper class Negroes who are…" description: "\"You have the upper class Negroes who are the modern day Uncle Toms or the 20th century Uncle Toms. They don't wear a handkerchief anymore. They wear to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/malcolm-x-213_20th-century_you-have-the-upper-class-negroes-who-are_2754526.jpg" --- # You have the upper class Negroes who are the modern day… ![“You have the upper class Negroes who are the modern day Uncle Toms or the 20th century Uncle Toms. They don't wear a handkerchief anymore. They wear top hats. They're called Doctor, they're called - Reverend, but they're still - they play the same role today that Uncle Tom played on the plantation.” quote by Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/malcolm-x-213_20th-century_you-have-the-upper-class-negroes-who-are_2754526.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/malcolm-x-213_20th-century_you-have-the-upper-class-negroes-who-are_2754526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/malcolm-x-213_20th-century_you-have-the-upper-class-negroes-who-are_2754526.jpg) > “You have the upper class Negroes who are the modern day Uncle Toms or the 20th century Uncle Toms. They don't wear a handkerchief anymore. They wear top hats. They're called Doctor, they're called - Reverend, but they're still - they play the same role today that Uncle Tom played on the plantation.” [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He compares modern Black professionals to historical Uncle Toms, suggesting they still serve oppressive roles despite outward respectability. **In simple terms:** Modern elites may perpetuate oppression. Key Takeaway Critique superficial respectability. Themes race class power identity Mood critical provocative Type political social commentary When to use this quote - corporate leadership - political office - media representation - community leadership Key Concepts systemic oppression social roles racial dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can true empowerment be achieved? - What signs reveal hidden oppression? A Different Perspective Not all respected positions are liberating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Hats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hats/) [Modern day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-day/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Top hats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/top-hats/) [Uncle tom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncle-tom/) [Upper class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-class/) ## Related quotes > [Today's Uncle Tom doesn't wear a handkerchief on his head. This modern, twentieth-century Uncle Thomas now often wears a top hat. He's usually well-dressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/today-s-uncle-tom-doesn-t-wear-a-handkerchief-on-his-head-this-modern/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“I know some first-class Negroes. I also know some second-rate white people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-kagen/i-know-some-first-class-negroes-i-also-know-some-second-rate-white/) [Lesley Kagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-kagen/) > [“I have lost patience with the idea of an insignificant human being standing up above the rest of us--whether he is called Reverend or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-rogan/i-have-lost-patience-with-the-idea-of-an-insignificant-human-being/) [Charlotte Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-rogan/) > [ Foreign diplomats could have modeled their conduct on the way the Negro postmen, Pullman porters, and dining car waiters of Roxbury \[Massachusetts\] acted, striding… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/foreign-diplomats-could-have-modeled-their-conduct-on-the-way-the/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Here you have 22 million Afro-Americans, black people today, catching more hell than Patrick Henry ever saw. And I'm here to tell you, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/here-you-have-22-million-afro-americans-black-people-today-catching/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [ The same thing that Uncle Tom did on the plantation before \[Abe\] Lincoln issued the so-called Emancipation Proclamation.I have no thinking on the matter.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-same-thing-that-uncle-tom-did-on-the-plantation-before-abe/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Just as Uncle Tom, back during slavery used to keep the Negroes from resisting the bloodhound or resisting the Ku Klux Klan by teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/just-as-uncle-tom-back-during-slavery-used-to-keep-the-negroes-from/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Since I learned the truth in Mecca, my dearest friends have come to include all kinds -- some Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/since-i-learned-the-truth-in-mecca-my-dearest-friends-have-come-to/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [If you read the story of slavery and see the part that the Uncle Tom played in the plantation, and then you see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-read-the-story-of-slavery-and-see-the-part-that-the-uncle-tom/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [People think I was born in top hat and tails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/people-think-i-was-born-in-top-hat-and-tails/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [Don't be fooled. I kept all my workout clothes in that top hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/don-t-be-fooled-i-kept-all-my-workout-clothes-in-that-top-hat/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [It looks rather ordinary," said the Snork. "Unless you consider that a top hat is always somewhat extraordinary, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/it-looks-rather-ordinary-said-the-snork-unless-you-consider-that-a/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) > [I've taken magic lessons since I was five-years-old. When I was little I would wear a top hat and cape, and I'd get relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-gray-gubler/i-ve-taken-magic-lessons-since-i-was-five-years-old-when-i-was-little/) [Matthew Gray Gubler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-gray-gubler/) > [Abe Lincoln is my favorite president of all time - and he pulls off that top hat pretty well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lochte/abe-lincoln-is-my-favorite-president-of-all-time-and-he-pulls-off/) [Ryan Lochte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lochte/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) ## More by Malcolm X > [If Christianity had asserted itself in Germany, six million Jews would have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-christianity-had-asserted-itself-in-germany-six-million-jews-would/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segregationist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/be-nonviolent-only-with-those-who-are-nonviolent-to-you-and-when-you/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [You can't legislate good will - that comes through education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/you-can-t-legislate-good-will-that-comes-through-education/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-muslims-believe-that-the-white-race-which-is-guilty-of-having/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I mean a real police state just to get a token recognition of a law. It take, it took, I think, 15,000 troops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-mean-a-real-police-state-just-to-get-a-token-recognition-of-a-law/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Like Samson, I am ready to pull down the white man's temple, knowing full well that I will be destroyed by the falling rubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/like-samson-i-am-ready-to-pull-down-the-white-man-s-temple-knowing/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Any negro who occupies a position that was given to him by the white man, if you analyze his function, his function never enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/any-negro-who-occupies-a-position-that-was-given-to-him-by-the-white/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Stumbling is not falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/stumbling-is-not-falling/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [God is going to punish the white man for his misdeeds toward black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/god-is-going-to-punish-the-white-man-for-his-misdeeds-toward-black/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Much of what I say might sound like it's stirring up trouble, but it's the truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/much-of-what-i-say-might-sound-like-it-s-stirring-up-trouble-but-it-s/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don't believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn't want to practice it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-believe-in-the-brotherhood-of-all-men-but-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) [Explore all 891 Malcolm X quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have the upper class Negroes who are the modern day Uncle Toms or the 20th century Uncle Toms. 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