These 5 Racist Food Brands Still Stock Our Shelves - Spoon University Allie Fenwick "Uncle" was a pejorative term used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to describe a Black person who was subservient to White authority figures. An older version of the picture on the packaging shows a black man wearing a bowtie, dressed as a servant. Today, "Uncle Ben" wears a collared shirt instead.