OK White people, do you know Sojourner Truth, Langston Hughes, and Thurgood Marshall?

[Lorini]

Just askin'

Bonus points if you don't have to Google!!!

[Jaymann]

Sigourney Weaver before she changed to her stage name?

[Blackhawk]

Two of three. I had to google Sojourner.

[Skinypupy]

Two of three. I had to google Sojourner.

Same. I’d heard the name but wasn’t exactly sure in what context.

That said, I was hard pressed to come up with details other than civil rights advocate/attorney and poet/playwright. I need to correct that gap.

[funnygirl]

Yes to all three. No googling required.

[Isgrimnur]

Yes.

[gameoverman]

Didn't know Sojourner Truth and with a name like that I'm sure I would have remembered it if I had encountered it. Langston Hughes was required reading in school and Thurgood Marshall was a big name who was referenced a lot when I was a kid. After doing a quick search I see Sojourner Truth was a woman. I think that's why I never heard the name. Women didn't get a lot of attention in school subjects like history or suggested reading. This meant the accomplishments of women didn't get a lot of attention anywhere else when I was growing up.

[hepcat]

To be fair, you could also change the subject line to "OK Black people..." and you'd probably find a discouraging number of folks who aren't even aware of those historical figures. Ignorance doesn't care what color you are.

[dbt1949]

I only know Thurgood Marshall.

[noxiousdog]

Yes, though I had to verify my memories of Sojourner Truth.

Is there a follow up to this? I'm always interested to know more.

[Hrdina]

I know all three.

I also knew that NASA named their 1997 Mars rover after Sojourner.

[Kraken]

I knew all three. Second-guessed myself on Sojourner, but wiki says I got it right in broad strokes.

[Scuzz]

Just askin'

Bonus points if you don't have to Google!!!

I know all three names and can tell you without doubt who Sojourner Truth and Thurgood Marshall are. Langston Hughes would require a guess.

Well, I thought he was a musician. I think I was close but would be wrong on a test.

[MHS]

Yes, yes, and yes, without Googling. But I read a lot and will instantly go to Wikipedia if I come across a name or reference I don't know while reading. I used to keep index cards in books with words and references to look up later; being able to do it instantly is one of my great joys with reading on an iPad.

[Holman]

Absolutely! But I'm a history guy, and I've taught Langston Hughes in literature classes.

In Eng 101 just before the election, I did a session bringing together Frederick Douglass ("What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"), Alexander Stevens ("Corner-Stone Speech"), and a couple of speeches by Abraham Lincoln.

I wasn't surprised (and was actually gratified) that no one had heard of the odious Stevens, but I was sad that so few students knew Douglass.

[AWS260]

Yes.

[stimpy]

Kind of a race bait thread title, dont ya think?
I too believe that a vast majority of Black people would not know who those people are.
What's your point?

[Holman]

Kind of a race bait thread title, dont ya think?
I too believe that a vast majority of Black people would not know who those people are.
What's your point?

Oh FFS.

Lorini is obviously proposing an alternate to the "Cary Grant/Von Braun" thread from earlier, with a question asking about African-American icons (but not the most famous ones) and asking it of a predominantly white audience.

That you took offense at it says a lot about you. (And I'd wager that vast majority of Black people *do* know those names.)

[stimpy]

Kind of a race bait thread title, dont ya think?
I too believe that a vast majority of Black people would not know who those people are.
What's your point?

Oh FFS.

Lorini is obviously proposing an alternate to the "Cary Grant/Von Braun" thread from earlier, with a question asking about African-American icons (but not the most famous ones) and asking it of a predominantly white audience.

That you took offense at it says a lot about you. (And I'd wager that vast majority of Black people *do* know those names.)

Point can be made without the race part in the title.
Who says I took offense to it? Assuming that says alot about you.
At least that thread was started with a story behind it.

[hepcat]

That you took offense at it says a lot about you. (And I'd wager that vast majority of Black people *do* know those names.)

I’m not so sure about that. Growing up in a predominantly white rural community, we were not taught about these historical figures. It wasn’t until I was working on my English degree in college that I learned of Hughes, for example.

I’m guessing stimpy is playing off my earlier post, but he’s missing my point. Many historical black leaders simply aren’t represented in many schools at any great length. And that is unfortunate for both white and black students.

[Jaymann]

Does this count?

[$iljanus]

I thought Lorini was being a little humorous with the title which I appreciated on a few levels. Shrug

2 out of 3 and after looking up Langston Hughes I’m going to have to check out his work.

[Holman]

Who says I took offense to it? Assuming that says alot about you.

You took offense:

Kind of a race bait thread title, dont ya think?

And the idea that simply asking what white people know about black history is "race baiting" is just... ugh.

[stimpy]

Who says I took offense to it? Assuming that says alot about you.

You took offense:

Kind of a race bait thread title, dont ya think?

And the idea that simply asking what white people know about black history is "race baiting" is just... ugh.

Get real.

[Blackhawk]

*shrug* I actually like the title. It twinged when I read it, but I've learned that when I twinge, I need to slow down and figure out why rather than making a knee-jerk comment.

[Sudy]

I think a respectful discussion of why this might offend you is acceptable. "Race bait" might be a loaded term though, and be construed as hostile. I admit I found the title off-putting at first, but then I considered that it was likely intended in a lighthearted tone. Lorini is a black woman in a forum of mostly white dudes... I should be initially welcoming of any discourse she contributes that may be outside my typical worldview. Worst case, I say nothing and no one is harmed outside of my own ego and sense of indignation for about five minutes.

To be honest, I found some of the attitudes in the original thread to border on arrogant as well.

Unrelatedly, this also inspired me to go to absurdist lengths and create a separate "Do you know...? thread for extremely obscure or fictional figures, but I quickly thought better of it. That's a 2006-Sudy thing to do, but I can't promise it won't happen in the future.

[Scuzz]

I thought Lorini was being a little humorous with the title which I appreciated on few levels. Shrug

That is how I took it. It was a take off on the earlier Cary Grant thread.

[hitbyambulance]

surprisingly for an upper-Midwest rural town, i grew up _relatively_ well-steeped in African-American history education. so as a corollary to that other thread, i'm still surprised the names mentioned are not universally known... or in general, the names, events and works people don't know (or didn't know until this summer!)

[Blackhawk]

I'm honestly surprised that people haven't heard of Hughes and Marshall at the very least. Although confession: I had no idea Langston Hughes was Black until this thread. That's probably because I've always identified him as a poet, and I don't really pay attention to poetry (my mind has trouble parsing metaphors, so most poetry is incomprehensible to me.)

[Kraken]

I don't really pay attention to poetry (my mind has trouble parsing metaphors, so most poetry is incomprehensible to me.)

Hey, me too. When I first encountered poetry I thought it was just word-play. When I learned that the reader is supposed to tease meaning out of the words, my attitude was "If you have something to say, just say it." I can understand a poem if I really work at it, but I don't have the patience. Even though I've always been a word guy, I don't enjoy reading poetry and would never attempt to write it. In fact, a couple of years ago I had to turn down a (sort of) friend who wanted to hire me to edit her poetry. It's like a language that I don't understand.

[jztemple2]

Yes, all three, but you didn't have a poll!

Also I'm not white, I'm a sort of a dirty tan with freckles.

[Isgrimnur]

My exposure to knowledge about Sojourner Truth is due only to my current audiobook.

[jztemple2]

I am wildly tempted to post the question below to the forum which is similar to this one posted by Lorini, but instead I'll just post it here and let people be annoying with me in content...

"OK people of any color, do you know Roger B. Taney, Simon Legree, and Captain Nathaniel Gordon?"

Just askin'

Bonus points if you don't have to Google!!!

By the way, why was the original question in the first post for white people only? Just wondering...

[Sudy]

It wasn't. "OK White people..." is in reference to the individuals that followed being Black.

[Skinypupy]

surprisingly for an upper-Midwest rural town, i grew up _relatively_ well-steeped in African-American history education. so as a corollary to that other thread, i'm still surprised the names mentioned are not universally known... or in general, the names, events and works people don't know (or didn't know until this summer!)

I’m at the opposite end of that spectrum. Growing up in lily-white Utah, there was not a single black student in my elementary or middle school. We were taught a completely whitewashed (to say the least) version of US and world history.

At the time I didn’t know any better, but it was utterly appalling, in retrospect. I’m always embarrassed at the knowledge gaps I still have when it comes to black history, but am working to get better in that regard and trying to ensure my kids don’t have those same blind spots.

[Kraken]

Sojourner Truth is the kind of name you never forget if you've ever heard it, even if you don't know who she was. It's just an awesome name, like Reality Winner in our time.

(Sub-game: How many know who Reality Winner is?)

[Sudy]

I'm going to guess it's a race horse.

[hitbyambulance]

(Sub-game: How many know who Reality Winner is?)

she got a raw deal. still in prison (unlike real traitors getting pardoned by the traitor-in-chief)

[gbasden]

Without googling, I know Sojourner Truth was an abolitionist, but I don't know much beyond that. Langston Hughes is a well known writer, but I am not sure I've read any of his works. But Marshall, on the other hand, is right in my wheelhouse as a poly sci/history major. He was amazing. I'm still boggled that he both argued Brown v. Board and then was the first black Supreme Court justice. That Clarence Thomas followed him in that seat is a cruel affront.

[Unagi]

The name was familiar but I needed to google Langston Hughes.

Do I get points for guessing he was black?


I knew the other two.