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Half of Britons can’t name a Black British historical figure, survey finds
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2023
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99% of American can't either.
They probably can, given there are more famous black Americans to choose from. Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, etc.
British, not American
?
Read the title of the thread. While half of Britons can't name a black historical figure, I bet 99% of Americans can name a Black British historical figure either. I sure can't.
Huh, didn't know they were British figures. Learn something new every day I suppose
Yeah, bur that's not newsworthy.
re-reading that, its not as much of a roast as I first thought
Ugh George Washington Carver is known by a LOT OF people. Not to mention we have days dedicated to some of the greatest historical black Americans, Martin Luther King Jr for instance. But outside of that nearly every American knows a decent amount.
Even the hateful useless Americans know President Barack Obama.
Others of note when I asked several friends at work (blue collar average Joes and Jills, hotel maintenance):
Booker T Washington Rosa Parks Harriet Tubman Jackie Robinson Malcolm X Hattie McDaniel Fredrick Douglass Oprah Winfrey (yeah I don’t know if this counts but I included it)
Out of the 15 or so people I asked all of them said Obama and MLK Jr.
British, not American
I was assuming that the commenter was claiming 99% of Americans couldn’t name a black American historical figure.
Nah, we're pretty uneducated, but there's an MLK day at least.
why would we :(
Lots of Americans know Crispis Attucks, he's covered in history class. They may not associate him with britian but he was shot years before the revolution so he was a British subject.
Never heard of him, but now I know, and knowing is half the battle. Thanks!
If you mean they can't name American black historical figures, I think you're wrong. Everyone would say MLK/Malcolm X at the very least.
If you mean Americans can't name black British historical figures, sure but who cares.
Literally two presidents ago… Barack Obama. Or four presidents ago, Bill Clinton.
Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Kamala Harris… there’s definitely a number of notable black figures in this country. We also have to keep in mind that black people are 12% of the US population so I wouldn’t expect them to be in every position possible 100% of the time.
If you’re more state specific too then in Cali we have our new state senator Laphonza Butler and Barbara Lee who is running for the position.
Those are all just recent history and notable people. We have plenty of notable black people in this country that the average American could name as you listed.
I didn't know what they defined as "historical figures" so I went with people that are no longer alive. But these are also good examples.
Lol, I would be willing to believe most people can come up with MLK. Not to mention that Obama technically is a correct answer.
British, not American