Most popular African Americans?

[Torsten]

Who would say are the most popular African Americans? I mean, if you had to name 10 African Americans right off the bat, what would you list look like?
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[prezbucky]

This is a mixture of past and present favorites... from several walks of life. It depends on whom you're asking -- I'd put Magic Johnson at #10 -- but here goes:

1. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2. Muhammad Ali
3. Booker T. Washington
4. Thurgood Marshall
5. Michael Jordan
6. Rosa Parks
7. Aretha Franklin
8. James Brown
9. Jim Brown
10. George Washington Carver

Read about and celebrate these folks' accomplishments!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Brown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aretha_Franklin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jordan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Yankee]

I think Tom has made a good list. Another two names that pop into my head immediately are Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby.

[prezbucky]

yep

and Louis Armstrong.

my favorite A-A football player was Barry Sanders... for my money, the best natural runner (at the tailback position) ever in the NFL -- better than Sayers and miles ahead of his contemporary rival, Emmitt Smith.

But if there's going to be someone on such an illustrious list to represent the A-A contribution to football, it has to be either Jim Brown or Jerry Rice, and Jim Brown's mass appeal gives him the nod, IMO.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Conchita]

Louis Armstrong would definitely be in my list, too, as would Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, for example.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald

[prezbucky]

yeah

George Washington Carver (allegedly) invented peanut butter, though.

Americans would be eating Vegemite-and-jelly sandwiches if not for that contribution.

hehe
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Conchita]

[prezbucky]

I tried Vegemite once, and to my USian taste buds, it wasn't palatable -- seemed very bitter.
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[aereal]

What about Densel Washington, Will Smith? They're pretty popular and constantly pop up in the movies
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[prezbucky]

yeah, I had Denzel on my list for a second. Will is big too of course.

I completely forgot some of the baseball greats:

Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Satchell Paige
Barry Bonds (steroids or not, a great player... everyone's poppin' 'roids these days anyway)
Jackie Robinson

etc.

In fact, Jackie Robinson belongs in the Top 10. Mays (among others) was better, but Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.

http://www.jackierobinson.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Bonds
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Jamie (K)]

The sad thing is that when February comes -- which is supposed to be "Black History Month" -- American schools "raise awareness" of the achievements of blacks by putting up displays about leftist politicians, musicians and sports figures. Generally completely missing from these displays are scientists, engineers and business leaders (such as the current president of Merrill Lynch). It shows a very skewed idea of achievement, and the tacit, unintentional and erroneous message is that blacks are only capable of achieving in certain limited fields.

It's similar to the times when American teachers put up displays of "great figures" in "women's history" for the kids. The display usually shows American feminist agitators -- some of whom were pretty stupid or hypocritical, and one of whom even believed in the extermination of blacks -- and there's no Marie Curie, Margaret Thatcher, Jane Goodall, Ruth Handler, Heddy Lamar (she was an engineer and inventor as well as an actress, Tom), etc. So the list will include some women who did practically nothing, but women of really great achievements are left off the list.

[prezbucky]

But Jamie, there is no liberal/leftist/socialist/pinko bias in schools or the media. That notion is just a vast right-wing conspiracy.



Seriously, if Karl Marx had been an African-American (and assuming we were more or less the same nation...), there'd be murals/statues of Karl Marx in schools all over the place.

...which, when you think about it, shouldn't be all that surprising. Consider teachers' unions for a moment. Who was really the father of unions? Who taught people that they should be able to control that which is not theirs (namely other people's land, money and businesses/firms)?

(now comes the standard caveat: Of course there was a time when businesses took severe advantage of workers in the USA... when strikes were really necessary and ended up being beneficial... etc. The labor movement did do some very good things for the common man. And we should take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, which means there will always be a need for some form of welfare.)
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Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.