Half of Britons can’t name a Black British historical figure, survey finds
Half of Britons can’t name a Black British historical figure, survey finds
Exclusive: Majority of British people found to have ‘shockingly little’ knowledge about Black British history
Exclusive: Majority of British people found to have ‘shockingly little’ knowledge about Black British history
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.
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.
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.
Feels like https://xkcd.com/2501/
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.
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.
It's important because whitewashing history is cultural erasure. Whether or not it's intentional, the education system is failing to properly educate students on the contributions of all types of people.
It matters to British children of color to see their cultures represented in positive ways and as great contributors to the world they live in.
Being "colorblind" ignores the fact that history was very much not and ignores that racism of the past still impacts so many people today.
It matters to British children of color to see their cultures represented in positive ways and as great contributors to the world they live in.
I might agree with this if I wasnt a British child of colour at one point in time. Anecdotally, I never cared about the colour of anyones skin. If you were a British historical figure then you were a British historical figure. As a kid I never cared to put people into different boxes based on race. I'm all for teaching kids about history from people of all walks of life, but I dont feel the need to say "this was a black british person" or "this was a white british person". They are British people.
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.
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)?
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.
It’s Scary that they can’t name one black Spice Girl.
99% of American can't either.
Yeah, bur that's not newsworthy.
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.
why would we :(
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
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!
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.
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.
And how many of their historical figures are black even? Not a whole lot
I'm from the US. I wouldn't have gotten many, but brits didn't even get Samuel Coleridge-Taylor? Sad.
It is sad, but this is also because of the generally low level of interest in classical music.
I will say that even within classical music, he does not get the correct level of recognition. Possibly (likely) due to racial issues of the time.
I have noticed more is being done to address this recently, which is a positive. Classical radio stations are featuring his music more and running features discussing his life and music. He was also featured in this year's proms, which is probably most of the general publics only exposure to classical music.
he was the mega-hit of his time. He toured the US repeatedly, meeting teddy roosevelt iirc. sad to see his legacy forgotten.
that makes sense for a country where the few black folks that did live there were usually not exactly living it up
Winston Churchill in silhouette
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!
Naomi Campbell ffs Linford Christie Mo Farah Lewis Hamilton
Big Narstie, Richard Ayoade, the guy from Red Dwarf
Not celebrities - historical figures.
How many can you name that have been dead for at least 50 years?
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.
Pish-posh! Obviously every true briton should know of their one and only Black Prince!
I thought that guy was Welsh.
He was Prince of Wales (because he was heir apparent), that's not the same as being Welsh.
As an American, I can name Idris Elba and Ncuti Gatwa. But not going any further back in history than that.
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.”
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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.
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
Andy Peters
I can name one: KSI.
Not Bri'ish, sorry. Don't know much about Bri'ish history. Please excuse my ignorance.
Ever heard of Naomi Campbell?
Just looked her up. Naah, never heard of her.
According to the one drop rule, Queen Elizabeth (and the entire royal line) are likely black, does that count?