Actor Morgan Freeman has had it with Black History Month.
In a recent interview with Variety, the Hollywood heavyweight didn’t mince words when it came to the annual February event.
“I detest it. The mere idea of it,” Freeman said bluntly. “You are going to give me the shortest month in a year? And you are going to celebrate ‘my’ history?! This whole idea makes my teeth itch. It’s not right.”
For Freeman, it’s simple: “My history is American history.” He argues that singling out black history for a single month only serves to divide us.
It’s not the first time he’s spoken out against the practice, either.
Actor Morgan Freeman derides Black History Month: ‘My history is American history’ https://t.co/r2Nqu1hz5v pic.twitter.com/8Co5sMA7sD
— New York Post (@nypost) June 17, 2024
Last year, he called the term “African-American” an insult, questioning why it’s so widely used.
Freeman’s been beating this drum for a while now.
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Back in 2005, he told CBS’ 60 Minutes, “I don’t want a Black History Month.” His solution for getting rid of racism? “Stop talking about it.”
Morgan Freeman back in 2009 on black history month.
He solved racism in 55 seconds.
If only everyone could think this way. Racism would have been eliminated pic.twitter.com/Tm0WIjpoGy pic.twitter.com/kP3KlXC0Or— Joshua Olusegun 🇳🇬 🇬🇧🇨🇦 (@Leged45) June 17, 2024
The actor’s comments tap into a bigger conversation about how we deal with race in America.
Some say dedicating months and labels to specific groups helps celebrate their contributions. Others, like Freeman, argue that it just highlights our differences.
In 2015, Freeman suggested that owning up to our biases could be the first step toward real acceptance. “If we accept that… in fact we are all bigots, that we are hardwired to be biased, then we can accept that, ‘OK, that’s going to be the first thing in our brains, but the second thing in our brains can be our cautious efforts at acceptance,'” he said.
At the end of the day, Freeman’s take on Black History Month challenges us to rethink how we approach diversity in this country.
By focusing on our shared American story and the things that connect us, he’s pushing us to move past labels and work towards a more united future for everyone.
