The vast majority of undergrad programs would neither require nor even offer an opportunity to have any encounter, brief or not, with those three individuals.
There are also a lot of “reasonably educated” people who would have had no occasion to “read the works” of Sowell, Crouch, and Steele. I sometimes joke that I am overeducated and I never read Sowell until well after completing my last degree. I also had to Google “black conservative Crouch” to figure out that by “Crouch,” you probably meant Stanley Crouch - someone with whom I am not familiar.
Based on my experiences, I’d say that assuming most people aren’t particularly familiar with the writings of most black conservatives is a much safer bet than assuming that they are. If the average individual is at all familiar with black conservatives, I’d guess that they’re probably more likely to be familiar with those that have talk radio shows or appear regularly on TV. People like David Webb or Larry Elder (more of a libertarian than strict conservative). Maybe Sonnie Johnson.
