Exclusive: Majority of British people found to have ‘shockingly little’ knowledge about Black British history
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.
I couldn’t name any Roman governor, of any race, ethnicity, or governate.
I’m fairly sure you know who Caesar was.
Gaius Iulius Caesar
neveronly briefly was a Governor but more known as a Consul before … Well Caesar.He was governor of Hispania Ulterior at one point.
Huh, look at that. Thanks.
He played the Joker against Adam West’s Batman.
No, you’re thinking of Cesar Chavez. They’re talking about the guy who invented salad.
three quarters couldn’t name a white one either.
They can name kings, queens and some prime ministers.
But given how incredibly white the UK historically was, they’re all obviously white.
I can name like 8 Henrys because they come in a sequence (I presume).
If you add Lenny Henry to the end, you win a prize.
Okay. So half of britons can’t name a black british historical figure? So what? That means HALF of britons CAN name a black british historical figure.
Personally I cannot name a single black british historical figure off the top of my head. But I also kind of find it offensive that people want to separate historical figures into “black” and “white” (and maybe others… who knows?). Do we need to have a catagory for every type and mix? Like ffs.
This bothers me as well. The headline might as well be based on some other survey about sexual orientation or height or hair color. What a strange thing, to further propagate association by race.
But I also kind of find it offensive that people want to separate historical figures into “black” and “white”
Incredible
It’s Scary that they can’t name one black Spice Girl.
I’m no Briton and i just know a few bits here and there of British history, but isn’t the UK a traditionally mostly white country ?
I’m guessing half of say, Norwegians, also can’t name a black Norwegian historical figure either. I’m betting it’s even more than that and they’re the most immediate neighbors of the UK.
I’m not saying they’re not important to be remembered, or that there weren’t black people in Europe since the Roman times, here and there, but statistically speaking, black people were the overwhelming minority.
Norway didn’t colonize the West Indies or Africa (though they ran the Société du Madal for Portugal), thereby increasing the number of black Norwegians to include residents of entirely new majority black countries. There are a lot of black Brits.
Also, why Norway and not France (physically closer, comparable colonial history) or the Republic of Ireland (former colony, significant “shared history” during the colonial times, literally touching)?
You would get the same results in France or Ireland. And if you want to get into figure in former British colonies, you’d be talking half the world. Name a famous black person from pre-revolutionary America that more than half of British would know.
I very much doubt you would get the same result from France, given the very different historical attitudes towards black people in the two countries, as well as a higher number of black people whose stories are taught (due to the difference in attitudes).
Name a famous black person from pre-revolutionary America that more than half of British would know.
Clearly, it’s impossible to do so, given the story we’re commenting under. I assume sally Hemings or (probably less likely) crispin attucks would be the figures they’d be most likely to name.
The more relevant aspect of the colonizing point was that Britain colonized Kenya (as an example) in the 1960s, not the US in the 1700s. They can’t name a single black Kenyan person from that time period?
Oh right yeah the colonial times. I guess when i was thinking about historical Britain i was thinking about celtic/roman/viking/medieval times. I tend to gloss over colonial times, i find that part of history not to be very appealing to me, but yeah, makes sense. Lots of black people because of the slave trade.
I picked east, i could’ve picked west, or south sure. No reason in particular.
I’ve only heard of Mary Seacole out of the black Britons from history we’re expected to know of.
I actually googled the musician and he has a relatively interesting story but it’s also not at all surprising people don’t know who he is today - he had one piece which was very popular called the Feast of Hiawatha which according to Google was played regularly until 1939 and then doesn’t seem to have been revived. Seems he was much better regarded as a conductor.
Anyhow, historically this country’s establishment has made it hard for black people to get famous until the 20th century, something that this academic surely knows. She’s either naive or deliberately skewing her results for headlines by asking for names from a time when her top rankings include a Roman Governor!
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
why would we :(
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.
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!
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
I’m American so I thought I didn’t know any Black British historical figures. Thanks, OP, for posting about this because it’s inspiring me to educate myself on the subject.
Winston Churchill in silhouette
Yeah, I couldn’t name one either (I’m from the US). The first name that popped into my mind was Jimi Hendrix but he wasn’t British. I guess Othello wasn’t British either, and may not have even been historical. I had heard of Idris Elba but didn’t realize that he was British. No idea about the Spice Girls.
There is a story (maybe apocryphal) that former US Vice President Dan Quayle (famous for malapropisms) once referred to Nelson Mandela as a “great African-American”, fwiw.
As an American, I can name Idris Elba and Ncuti Gatwa. But not going any further back in history than that.
Andy Peters
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!
How many people could recognize any but the 3-5 most repeatedly displayed historical figures from significantly before their own birth by sight or describe their appearance? I mean in Britain it might be a few more because they are so obsessed with their past monarchs but I doubt it would reach double digits.
You say that like knowing one’s history is a bad thing. I imagine wherever you are from is equally as “obsessed” about its history.
For instance, aren’t Americans taught about their past presidents? And most of them had significantly less impact than most of Britain’s monarchs.
I am not talking about school or documentaries or anything like that. I was more thinking there is a lot of media that portrays some of the past monarchs in always the same way, e.g. queen Victoria or king Henry VIII. It is not that the people know what they did or who they really were but their images are plastered in a lot of places in ways that others countries do not.
Which countries are you culturally aware of enough to know that to be the case?
The US has mount Rushmore and the Licoln Memorial as an example of a counter point.
I think most countries have images of their old leaders in a similar way to how UK has it. But I’m curious to know where this is not true.
Most have things like statues or that mountain you mention, things that do not represent things like skin tone or hair colour accurately so unless someone differs ethnically a lot from the rest of the population you would never know those details from those kinds of portrayals of their appearance.
Source? Sounds like nonsense to me.
mean in Britain it might be a few more because they are so obsessed with their past monarchs
Where are you getting that from?
Most people couldn’t tell you who came before Elizabeth II
Naomi Campbell ffs Linford Christie Mo Farah Lewis Hamilton
Not celebrities - historical figures.
How many can you name that have been dead for at least 50 years?
Big Narstie, Richard Ayoade, the guy from Red Dwarf
