Morgan Freeman Says “Black History Month Is An Insult”
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Morgan Freeman is insulted by the idea of Black History Month and being labeled an African American. During a conversation with The Sunday Times, Freeman, 85, was asked about race in America, to which the legend unloaded on the two concepts he doesn’t like.
“Two things I can say publicly that I do not like,” Freeman began. “Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?”
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“Also, ‘African American’ is an insult. I don’t subscribe to that title. Black people have had different titles all the way back to the n-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses ‘African American’. What does it really mean? Most Black people in this part of the world are mongrels. And you say Africa as if it’s a country when it’s a continent, like Europe.”
The interviewer drew a parallel to Denzel Washington, who famously once said, “I’m very proud to be Black, but Black is not all I am.” Freeman responded to the comparison, saying, “Yes, exactly. I’m in total agreement. You can’t define me that way.“
Freeman’s comments arrived two months after Idris Elba asserted that he didn’t want to carry the “Black actor label.”
During an interview with Esquire UK, Elba spoke about how much the label restricted his growth as an entertainer and spoke to humankind’s “obsession” with race.
“As humans, we are obsessed with race,” he said. “And that obsession can hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin.
“I didn’t become an actor because I didn’t see Black people doing it, and I wanted to change that. I did it because I thought that’s a great profession and I could do a good job at it. As you get up the ladder, you get asked what it’s like to be the first Black to do this or that. Well, it’s the same as it would be if I were white. It’s the first time for me. I don’t want to be the first Black. I’m the first Idris.”
