HS Kids Take Color-Blind View of History

Martin Luther King Jr. is the most famous American in history, according to 2,000 high school students asked to name the top 10, reports USA Today. In a dramatic break from the "dead white male" paradigm, African Americans, women, and Arfican-American women dominated the list, with Rosa Parks second, Harriet Tubman at No. 3, and Oprah Winfrey No. 7.

The list's first white male is No. 5 Benjamin Franklin. "Over the course of about 44 years, we've had a revolution in the people who we've come to think about to represent the American story," said the study's co-leader. The change in focus isn't specific to teenagers, either—adults gave nearly identical responses. (More famous Americans stories.)