The term "Uncle Tom" is used as an epitaph to describe a person of color that has sold out to the white establishment, obviously by people who haven't read the book from which the name is derived.  Uncle Tom, the character, comes from the immortalized fictional book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Ms. Stowe had written the book borne out of a strong conviction that the evil of slavery must be exposed to a nation torn with conflicted feelings about the plight of the millions in bondage in these United States. This book was beautifully and brilliantly written.  President Lincoln was quoted as saying to Ms. Stowe upon meeting her, "So this is the lady who started this war." To use the term Uncle Tom derisively is to reveal ignorance in the character himself. Common sense should tell us that if Ms. Stowe's intention was to bring down slavery, her main character would not be a spineless, step-n-fetch it  weakling.  Indeed he was not.  Uncle Tom was a man of character, wisdom, patience and godliness.  May I recap the most compelling scene in the book of human frailty and complexities? Ms. Stowe wrote the last chapters first concerning the evil and final owner of Uncle Tom.  To this point, Uncle Tom had been a kind and gentle soul, a man who knew he was stuck in surroundings  he could do nothing about, but who kept his own heart from the slavery of bitterness, refusing to stoop to the level his captors. The demonic Simon Legree was his master now and Legree was determined to break him or kill him.  Uncle Tom tried his best to keep his head and heart up, helping the other slaves meet their quotas.  But the cruelty and spartan conditions, along with the sneering predictions of the owner, began to tell on Uncle Tom.  Finally, one evening, Tom was sitting by a campfire alone after another brutally long day, ready to give up his soul and standards of trying to make sense of his world.  Out of the shadows came Legree and told him, "there is no God, I am your God now.  I'll break you and then you will be one of my foremen.  I'll give you all the liquor you want and stop the beatings."  Legree then slunk off into the darkness.  Uncle Tom was at his limit.  He broke down crying and said "O Lord, help me".  Suddenly, over the campfire appeared a form, a vision of Jesus hanging on the cross and looking at Tom.  When Tom looked up at him, he was suddenly baptized in the Holy Ghost and Fire!  He felt alive and refreshed, restored.  The next day, early morning, everyone noticed a change had come over Tom, even the overseers.  Legree was nonplussed.  Over the course of the day, Legree was puzzled that Tom seemed to be a new, invigorated man.  The other slaves hopes started to revive, though they had been buried long ago.  Without going into much more of the story, Tom came up with an ingenious idea to help two ladies escape from the plantation and he broke the spirits of the overseers who asked him to pray for them.  In the end, when Tom was dying, a young man wept over him and cried "poor Tom!".  But Uncle Tom said, "Don't cry for me, I am not poor anymore. I am going to heaven.  What a thing it is to be a Christian!"  This book gave hope and inspiration to millions.  It is a shame that today this name is synonymous with something untoward.  That name should be revered as a hero of the ages who understood the secret to overcoming the world