Seeing the Song of the South as a little kid, I never got the impression that Uncle Remus was inferior. What I saw was a man who did not have an easy life yet was full of patience and love towards children. Which kid doesn't want a grandfather like that, who sings and tells exciting stories full of worldly wisdom? It's a shame people see it as anything more than that.

As to the N-word in Huckleberry Finn, imagine that in 20, 30, 50 years someone decides that African-American is a racist term. What does that make all of us?
Also, if a character is racist and acts it, does that mean the book is necessarily racist?