"Uncle Ben" 
It's amazing to me that this is a controversy. Are "immigrants" only those who decide of their own volition to move somewhere because they think it would be neat? What do we call those English convicts or street urchins who were forced by law to come to Virginia or Australia? What do we call people who were victims of forced depopulations in the aftermaths of wars and made to settle somewhere else? Please tell me what is the politically correct term for someone who comes from another country that won't offend our delicate sensibilities? Maybe the offensive thing is the idea that slaves were human beings who had hopes and dreams for their children and grandchildren?
Yes, an immigrant is one who goes to a different country voluntarily, even if pressured by economic or other problems. If they're forced to leave, they're refugees, or in this case, slaves. It's a pretty simple concept.
And people aren't disputing that slaves had hopes and dreams for their children and grandchildren, it's just that the wording is hilariously skewed and insensitive.
