There have been multiple accounts created with the sole purpose of posting advertisement posts or replies containing unsolicited advertising.

Accounts which solely post advertisements, or persistently post them may be terminated.

Lath ,

Pish-posh! Obviously every true briton should know of their one and only Black Prince!

Zorque ,

I thought that guy was Welsh.

HumbertTetere ,

He was Prince of Wales (because he was heir apparent), that’s not the same as being Welsh.

doublejay1999 ,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

three quarters couldn’t name a white one either.

Hyperreality ,

They can name kings, queens and some prime ministers.

But given how incredibly white the UK historically was, they're all obviously white.

Trudge ,
@Trudge@lemmygrad.ml avatar

I can name like 8 Henrys because they come in a sequence (I presume).

catfish ,

If you add Lenny Henry to the end, you win a prize.

GreyShuck ,
@GreyShuck@feddit.uk avatar

Whilst I am sympathetic to the overall aim of this, things like this:

She would have expected people to name figures such as Quintus Lollius Urbicus, who became governor of Roman Britain

…do stand out as being a a bit unrealisitic. I mean, how many governors of Roman Britain of any race or nationality can the typical Briton actually name? I’d be surprised if it was more than 1 and probably less than that.

And if the expectation is that anyone would know of this guy only because his chief contribution to history is “being black” then I am not sure what we are gaining here.

SheeEttin ,

I couldn’t name any Roman governor, of any race, ethnicity, or governate.

AngrilyEatingMuffins ,

I’m fairly sure you know who Caesar was.

ElmarsonTheThird , (edited )

Gaius Iulius Caesar never only briefly was a Governor but more known as a Consul before … Well Caesar.

yata ,

He was governor of Hispania Ulterior at one point.

ElmarsonTheThird ,

Huh, look at that. Thanks.

GiantRobotTRex ,

He played the Joker against Adam West’s Batman.

jaywalker ,

No, you’re thinking of Cesar Chavez. They’re talking about the guy who invented salad.

AndrasKrigare ,

Feels like xkcd.com/2501/

jsdz ,

She would have expected people to name figures such as Quintus Lollius Urbicus, who became governor of Roman Britain

Look, I know everyone in Britain is required to know the names and dates of all the monarchs going back to the 9th century, but expecting everyone to be able to come up with that name when put on the spot is going a little too far.

FatTony , (edited )
@FatTony@lemmy.world avatar

Also is it even confirmed he was black? I mean Algerian people are not exactly black. Could be wrong though. Don’t know if there are any ancient scripts describing him.

vagrantprodigy ,

His father was a Berber, and his mother was Roman if I’m not mistaken. Doesn’t sound like he was black.

njm1314 ,

Yeah you’ll see this a lot with Roman history anyone who lived on the continent of Africa has to be black. It’s a way of oddly, well I guess whitewashing isn’t the exact right term I’m looking for, but oversimplifying I guess history? I’ve taken the Nuance out of things. Also of diminishing other North African cultures.

vagrantprodigy ,

It’s not just Roman history. It happened recently with the Cleopatra show. Some people can’t get their head around the idea that not all Africans are black.

taladar ,

I wouldn’t really think of Roman governors of Britain as a “British historical figure”, more like a “Roman historical figure who happened to be stationed in Britain”, same as with modern diplomats or military leaders.

essellburns ,

This isn’t just a race issue, how many historical figures in general can people name?

I’d gamble that 7% of British people think Winston Churchill signed the Magna Carta at the end of the first world war, and I include former prime ministers in that.

Wanderer ,

I bet most people couldn’t name a prime minister under Victoria or the prime minister during WW1.

I’m pretty certain there has never been a black person as important as those in British history.

Kusimulkku ,

And how many of their historical figures are black even? Not a whole lot

Tylerdurdon ,

99% of American can’t either.

Gladaed ,

Yeah, bur that’s not newsworthy.

MinekPo1 ,
@MinekPo1@lemmygrad.ml avatar

re-reading that, its not as much of a roast as I first thought

Hyperreality ,

They probably can, given there are more famous black Americans to choose from. Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, etc.

neoman4426 ,

Huh, didn't know they were British figures. Learn something new every day I suppose

Tylerdurdon ,

British, not American

Hyperreality ,

?

Tylerdurdon ,

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.

KRAW ,
@KRAW@linux.community avatar

Lol, I would be willing to believe most people can come up with MLK. Not to mention that Obama technically is a correct answer.

Tylerdurdon ,

British, not American

Heratiki ,

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.

Tylerdurdon ,

British, not American

Heratiki ,

I was assuming that the commenter was claiming 99% of Americans couldn’t name a black American historical figure.

Tylerdurdon , (edited )

Nah, we’re pretty uneducated, but there’s an MLK day at least.

RickyRigatoni ,
@RickyRigatoni@lemmy.ml avatar

why would we :(

thecrotch ,

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.

Tylerdurdon ,

Never heard of him, but now I know, and knowing is half the battle. Thanks!

autotldr Bot ,

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Around half believed the number was 250,000 or fewer and only 12% of Britons thought that more than 1 million people were taken, “despite the true figure being more than three times that amount”, the report found.

Atinuke, the book’s award-winning Nigerian-born author, said of the survey’s findings: “Half of UK adults cannot name a single Black historical figure and only 7% can name more than four … I think disbelief is really the only word.”

She would have expected people to name figures such as Quintus Lollius Urbicus, who became governor of Roman Britain; the formerly enslaved Olaudah Equiano, who became an abolitionist and writer; Mary Seacole, who provided sustenance and care for British soldiers during the Crimean war, and the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

More than that, the forced contribution of millions of Black people before and during the Georgian era changed the course of British history – helping Britain to become the first industrialised nation in the world, and a superpower.”

She called for the government to drive more integration of Black British history in schools and universities, noting that, “as our world becomes more polarised and divided, increased inclusivity is needed now more than ever.

The results of this survey demonstrate an urgent need for books … that spotlight integral parts of our history that have been pushed to one side for far too long.”

The original article contains 593 words, the summary contains 228 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • [email protected]
  • random
  • lifeLocal
  • goranko
  • All magazines
    •