As the North Carolina Gubernatorial election draws closer, Republican nominee Lt. Governor Mark Robinson’s history of going after prominent Black figures online has understandably received significant attention.
For reference, Robinson called Beyonce a “skank” and said the Civil Rights Movement was a Marxist plot that robbed Americans of their freedom. However, one surprisingly common thread in his critiques of other Black Americans has flown mostly under the radar.
In multiple posts, Robinson, who is Black, compares prominent Black political and cultural figures to “Sambo” and “Quimbo” from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. And, for anyone who didn’t read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel, no, that’s not a compliment.
In the book, Sambo and Quimbo were two enslaved Black people who loyally served their abusive enslaver at the expense of their fellow enslaved people.
In a post about civil rights leader Rev. William Barber, Robinson refers to him as “Sambo,” adding “or is it Quimbo. “I’d like to take this time to say thank you to Dr. William Barber (aka Sambo or is it Quimbo) for his tireless efforts in helping white liberals in there quest to keep blacks in North Carolina poor, dumb, and voting for the people who want them to stay that way,” wrote Robinson in a 2014 post, obtained by Talking Points Memo.
In another post that same year, he called Rev. Al Sharpton “a racist money-grubbing, scumbag Sambo.”
Political figures weren’t the only ones he compared to enslaved people. Snoop Dog and 50 Cent were also on the receiving end of the Uncle Tom’s Cabin comparisons. “Snoop Dogg is Sambo. 50 Cent is Quimbo. #shameonyouifyoudon’tunderstand,” he posted on Facebook.
It’s worth noting that Robinson is still neck and neck with his Democratic general election opponent, Josh Stein, making a Robinson governorship very much in the realm of possibilities.
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