Samuel L. Jackson is an icon, a living legend, and a national treasure. His portrayal of Uncle Sam during the Super Bowl halftime show has sparked cheers, conversation and controversy, but this role wasn’t just for show.
The Uncle Sam we’ve come to know took shape somewhere after the Civil War, but he was clean-shaven back then. He was used as propaganda to promote patriotism, uncritical support of the government, and in wartime, military recruitment.
Depicting Uncle Sam as a Black man undermines the assumption that only white Americans can be patriotic. Black Uncle Sam redefines patriotism, disrupts racial power dynamics, and offers a powerful critique of how the national narrative has always silenced and marginalized Black Americans.
Black Uncle Sam shows how Black Americans have been abused by American imperialism. He forces the world to ask who benefits from the American ideal and who is truly free.
Jackson’s portrayal of Uncle Sam is a radical acknowledgment of Black citizenship and dignity and an invitation to reconsider the true meaning of the values American identity claims to uphold.