'Jeopardy!' Contestants' Lack of Black History Knowledge Called Out

Jeopardy! viewers have called out the show's contestants for the numerous times they have missed out on correctly answering clues regarding Black people.

Over the years, several contestants on the syndicated quiz show have become stars in their own right after their knowledge in a broad range of subjects earned them spots in the Jeopardy! history books.

However, author and journalist Michael Harriot drew laughs recently when he accused most of those who compete on Jeopardy! of sharing a weakness in one subject area.

Taking to Twitter, he imagined a moment on the show, writing: "Host: The 2nd Earl of Winchester wrote this 1887 symphony about the tributary to the 42nd-largest river in Obscuristan. Contestant: What is 'Aksjducpïsudintal in A Minor?' I'll take History for $100."

Harriot, author of Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America, then imagined the host asking: "Name a Black person who did anything." The contestants fell silent instead of delivering a response.

The viral tweet, which has been viewed more than 950,000 times, was met with messages of amusement and frustration from Jeopardy! fans.

"THEE. ACCURACY," said one Twitter user. "I recall when FloJo came up in a category called '80's Ladies.' Alas, even though they showed her photo and described her medal wins at the 1988 Olympics, none of the contestants could name her."

"I chuckle as they bounce around the board as long as possible before they have to choose something from the Black category!" another commented.

Another user said that the tweets on the matter were "actually really relevant to the attacks on Black history and why it is needed. It may be trivial but indicative of how little Black history is valued."

Another chimed in: "When I was a (white) kid, you couldn't get [past] fourth grade without knowing who Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, & George Washington Carver were, at a minimum. Jackie Robinson was still famous, & Louis Armstrong. MLK Jr. in the news."

"Me yelling at the TV: 'WHO IS KETANJI BROWN JACKSON!!!'" another tweeted, referring to the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Saying that the matter went beyond Black history, another user wrote that blank contestant moments occur "literally anytime a Native American category shows up. It's laughable at this point. I can recall watching correct answers to the category only once. Mostly... blank stares...."

One Jeopardy! viewer added that contestants on the show also "usually avoid sports categories like the plague."

Another stated that "it's not just Jeopardy! The lack of knowledge of most Black facts puts a halt to many a game show contestant. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is another prime example."

Harriot returned to the thread to share a link to a video from a YouTube channel called Black Jeopardy Misses, which collates the moments when contestants have guessed incorrectly on clues regarding Black people.

While Harriot's thread was met with a flood of comments from Twitter users who agreed, a small faction objected to his depiction of an imagined moment on the show, with one branding it "pretty racist."

"Nonsense," said another detractor. "I've watched the show for years. I can think of many many questions I've heard that had answers like Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, Fred Douglass, MLK, DuBois, Angelou, Owens, Baldwin, Marshall, Wheatley, etc. Go look it up."

Another user noted that many potential contestants likely prepared for their time on Jeopardy! by having "watched the show, played along, paid attention to the trends and common topics, used J! Archive to study, noted common topics."

In April, a post about Jeopardy! went viral when contestants on the show were seen avoiding the category "'80s and '90s R&B Songs."

A Twitter user posted a video of a contestant subsequently failing to correctly respond to a clue about singer Bobby Brown. A photo of the "My Prerogative" singer was shown as part of the clue.

Another Twitter user posted an image of all of the clues in the category, which involved the music genre's most famous stars, including Prince, Destiny's Child, TLC and Lionel Richie, as well as Brown.

The show's format requires contestants to request categories in which they try to guess the correct response, and a number of Jeopardy! fans appeared surprised that none of the squares about R&B were opened until the end.

Season 39 of Jeopardy! will conclude this summer. Mayim Bialik had been set to host the final episodes, but she reportedly walked off the set in solidarity with striking writers. Fellow host Ken Jennings has reportedly stepped in to present the season's last batch of episodes.