Should lack of history knowledge in the black community be addressed, or should we just let it be?

Question

Last night on "The Amazing Race", there was a challenge where they had to match pictures and names of famous people in Spanish history. There were actors dressed as them and said what they were famous for and that's it. Some were obscure, but others were big names. I can forgive not knowing their faces, but names like Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Hernan Cortes and Ponce de Leon, are names EVERYONE should know. The other teams had at least heard of them, but the two black girls hadn't heard of a SINGLE one! They asked some girl on the streets to look up, "a guy known for clocks and melting things." The girl said, "DALI" and the black girls were so shocked, like they just met a GENIUS! This is literally general knowledge😂

There was a black girl in my history class in college, she didn't know about ANY of the famous events the teacher was talking about, but she knew the Tulsa Race Riots😂

I often see black people online complaining when White people on "Jeopardy" don't know Obama's book, or some obscure black person, or when football fans don't know who Patrice Lamumba is, but when black people don't know FDR or Teddy Roosevelt, it's fine. I mean, White people know who Nelson Mandela, MLK and Malcolm X are.

There is surely a reason black people only go on "Family Feud' and almost never go on "Jeopardy" or "Millionaire"

There is a concerning issue of black people only knowing/caring about THEIR OWN history.

Travi186 · Accepted Answer

So many things wrong with this argument. So two black women didn’t know some historical figures means black people as a whole don’t know their own history or others? Very ignorant black a white way of thinking. Not knowing someone or something isn't evidence of a racial problem and can fall along education, interest, country, or simply they forgot. You mentioned also the black student who only knew about Tulsa and no other events. What exactly does that prove? That she knows one thing and nothing else? Thats normal.

Being black myself and 31, i would say im pretty knowledgeable about many historical figures and events but thats mostly tied to interest and education. But im not setting a standard that everyone should know something because i know it because that would just be stupid. I dont know every historical person or event either. I mentioned my age because if you ask most adults about this same topic they would know some history, but eventually they would get just as stumped regardless of race.

I also find it pretty ironic that saying “white people know Mandela, MLK, and Malcolm X”, some of the most internationally famous figures proves really any you're talking about. You’re using that same logic by saying “I went to college therefore I'm better and know more than people.” Thats not even close to how knowledge works.

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

We can't be expected to know everything in history because there's too much of it. But I think you should at least know the basics of your own country and have a decent understanding of local history.

Globally you should know about the big stuff like world wars, ancient rome, Egypt etc. You don't need to know the life story of piccaso or Dali but you should at least know they're artists.

I think the problem in America is you don't have much history and what you do have tends to be white achievements and the black stuff based mostly around slavery. I can kinda get why the blacks aren't that interested when much of school lessons paints them as the underdog

shish_kebab · Answer

Just let it be. And while we're at it, let's forget about Black History month.

FrodoSkywalker007 · Answer

You are correct. Historical illiteracy is common in all communities.  Its especially prolific in thr black community due to their anti education attitudes.

Anonymous · Answer

Racist fuck.

Should lack of history knowledge in the black community be addressed, or should we just let it be?

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Should lack of history knowledge in the black community be addressed, or should we just let it be?

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