cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/worldnews@lemmy.ml/t/571852

Exclusive: Majority of British people found to have ‘shockingly little’ knowledge about Black British history

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[–] 26 points 2 years ago (5 children)

"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."

I've literally never heard of any of these people.. schools don't cover them - I couldn't name any white romans either from the UK.. Obviously I've heard of some of the emperors, but that's it.

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 2 years ago

    Mary Seacole is taught about in schools these days, alongside Florence Nightingale as I helped my friends' son with his homework on that one.

    I was aware of Quintus Lollius Urbicus but don't think I could remember his name off the top of my head. I might stash it away now for future reference. He was born in Numidia and died in Rome, so if we use that definition you can claim Julius Caesar as white Roman historical figure. And Hadrian who built The Wall.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'd heard of Coleridge. Victorian poet and friend of Mary Shelley and Lord Byron. He wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which Iron Maiden covered some years later.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)