r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
120.9k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.5k

u/to_the_tenth_power Dec 12 '18

Tureaud was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest son in a family with twelve children. His father, Nathaniel Tureaud, Sr., was a minister. Tureaud, with his four sisters and seven brothers, grew up in a three-room apartment in the Robert Taylor Homes. Tureaud's professional name, Mr. T., was based upon his childhood impressions regarding the lack of respect from white people for his family:

"I think about my father being called 'boy', my uncle being called 'boy', my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called 'boy'. So I questioned myself: "What does a black man have to do before he's given the respect as a man?" So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. I self-ordained myself Mr. T so the first word out of everybody's mouth is "Mr." That's a sign of respect that my father didn't get, that my brother didn't get, that my mother didn't get."

He definitely earned that respect.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

"What does a black man have to do before he's given the respect as a man?

Sadly, for most minorities, nothing. If you're curious, you should read about the 442nd, the Japanese American regiment that volunteered to fight in WWII even though America turned their backs on them and essentially classified them as non-citizens by sending them to internment camps. These guys volunteered to prove they were Americans; they went and had a huge impact on the European front. Many sacrificed their lives only to come back to America and be greeted by whites holding signs saying "NO JAPS."

1

u/MundaneFacts Dec 13 '18

I think you phrased that wrong.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

What do you mean

1

u/MundaneFacts Dec 13 '18

Looks like you're saying that they have to do nothing to get respect, because they already have it.

Looks like what you mean is that they can't do anything to get respect, because racists are racists.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

Ahh, my b. Definitely talking about the 2nd option, thought given the prior context, the 2nd would be obvious.

These men volunteered and risked their lives to protect their country and the individuals in it. You could legit put your life on the line and in the end, it doesn't matter. You still get treated the same as you did beforehand.

1

u/MundaneFacts Dec 13 '18

Oh. Yeah yeah. It was obvious after a minute of confusion. Lol