An incredibly relevant and insightful documentary that delves into the past, present, and future of the black American conservative movement, Uncle Tom gives platform to both well-known and everyday voices who combat false narratives with passion and sobering fact-based clarity.

When does a “culture” become a cult? After watching Uncle Tom, it is clear that this is a question facing many black American men and women, who have decided to speak out against a mindset that they believe has crippled their community.

The results of their choice is to be derailed, de-platformed, and insulted. A common insult it to be called an “Uncle Tom”, meaning a black person who pays servitude to the white man, as taken from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Yet as conservative commentator Larry Elder astutely points out, even that characterisation is false. And so it goes with the rest of the mainstream narrative about politics in black America.

Presented in stark black and white, Uncle Tom stirringly and intelligently presents an oral history of the American black conservative not only through voices successful and notorious, but also through everyday men and women. The first of these voices we hear is from Chad Jackson, a self-employed plumber who after his conversion to Christianity, finds himself reborn in another way.

It is a story repeated by the likes of prominent black conservatives such as Jesse Lee Peterson, Brandon Tatum, and Candace Owens, in which they describe an escape from the clutches of corrosive conformity that has plagued their people for generations. Director Justine Malone (Hurry Up and Wait), as well as his co-writers Ryder Ansell and Larry Elder, do a great job in presenting the political and social history that created what they describe as a self-imposed oppression of minds and hearts.

From the New Deal of 1933, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and onwards, Uncle Tom wastes no time in destroying false narratives regarding the political history of black Americans, and how conservatives found themselves on the outside looking in. Especially impressive is detailing  the how, what, and why so many black Americans have delegated themselves to the Democrats, the very same political party that (especially in the South) played a significant part in creating the Klu Klux Klan, and even opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  

These facts and so many more features in a documentary that gives voice to a little heard yet growing political movement, while also shedding light on the history of a people that has been twisted and formed to suit an agenda. An essential watch for political junkies and novices alike, Uncle Tom confronts agendas and make an impression while doing so.