Poll Shows 67% Of High Schoolers Think MLK Was An American President
In a stunning Pewter Poll, it was revealed today that a majority of American high schoolers think civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. was president of the United States before his assassination in 1968. About 3,169 high schoolers from grade 9 through 12 were polled on Jan. 16 in a survey that simply asked if Martin Luther King Jr. was ever the president of the United States. The results shocked Pewter, who reported 67 percent of high schoolers thought King has held that office. Sarah Small, a 9th grader in Ohio, told USA Today, âOf course he was president. I follow politics. He was the first black president. Thatâs why we celebrate his birthday, duh.â âHe was a great man,â said Tommy Jones of Los Angeles. âToo bad they killed him for being the first black president.â Results were equal among male and female students but the percent of incorrectness actually rose through the grade with more 12th graders getting the question wrong compared to 9th graders. New York Times editor Wally Joyce said, âIt was a remarkable poll. How could a teenager think MLK was president? The students werenât that young when Barack Obama became president. How did they not know Obama was the first black president?â Some statisticians say the report shows how much more acceptingÂ the younger generation is of different races and culture. âItâs as if these kids didnât know of Americaâs racist past,â pollsterÂ Matt Tenison told Yahoo! News. âIâm not sure if that part of history is being glossed over by the history books but the results of the poll were amazing. We are still studying the implications of this seemingly simple poll and our conclusion will be reported in the next few months.â To the principal's office Principals across the country were angry with the questionnaire. âThe wording tricked them up,â Principal Peter Sakes of Wausau West High School in Wisconsin told The Wausau Herald. âThe question put too much pressure on them so they reacted like any teenager would: by making something up. I assure you all our students know that Martin Luther King was a negro civil rights leader in the '40s, not the president of these United States.â Other teachers disagreed with the principal's response. âMany students simply donât pay attention in class. They just know they get the day off school,â said Susan Thompson of Union, N.J. âThis is what happens when we teach for the standardized tests. We skip over basic knowledge these kids should be learning.â