With Black History Month in full effect, we’re seeing more news, articles, and discussions dedicated to issues related to African Americans. There’s a video of Morgan Freeman in a 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace making its rounds on the blogosphere and social media over the past couple of days. Freeman was both right and wrong concerning his points made about Black History Month and race in America.
How Freeman Was Right
In the video (see below), Freeman calls Black History Month “ridiculous,” and asks Wallace, “You’re gonna relegate my history to one month? What do you do with yours? Which month is White history month?”
Freeman further illustrates his point by pressing Mike Wallace, who is Jewish, and asking whether he want’s a “Jewish History Month,” to which Wallace replies, “No.”
The actor finishes his point with the proclamation, “I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.”
I completely agree with Freeman on the point that Black history is often relegated to a single month. His implication that Black history should be integrated with American history is also a point with which I agree.
The spirit of Freeman’s message is that we shouldn’t celebrate separately and at a designated time that which should be observed continuously as a part of a collective experience and history. As a Black person, I feel Blacks live Black history (and its effects) every day, and we are living what will be Black history in the future. In this respect, I must admit that I don’t want a Black History month either.
In spite of this, I do participate in some Black History Month observances and discussions. Why? Because I am willing to have the discussion of race in America an abroad whenever and wherever it occurs. If that’s during Black History Month, then so be it. We are not post-racial, despite many people thinking we are.
In a previous episode of The Axiom Amnesia Theory, Heit & I talked about the indication of post-racialism as being the point when we are able to stop saying “the first Black (or other)” this or that. If you missed that episode, you can check it out in Episode 002: Inhumanitarian Mission. The discussion starts at the 02:30 mark of the podcast.
Where Freeman Went Wrong
In response to Freeman’s proclamation that he doesn’t want a Black History Month, Mike Wallace asks him how we’ll get rid of racism. It is Freeman’s answer to this question that derails his position on racial issues in the country.
Freeman stated that in order to get rid of racism, we should “stop talking about it.” He goes on to tell Wallace, “I’m gonna stop calling you a White man. And, I’m gonna ask that you stop calling me a Black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman.”
What?!? The way to fix a problem is to ignore it? Morgan Freeman got this one wrong–very wrong. The way we begin to solve the race issue is to address it, not ignore it. Not only is Freeman’s position on the race matters wrongheaded, it’s extremely unrealistic.
The correct answer to the question of how to solve racism begins with acknowledging our differences with the understanding that these differences are in the details–hair color, skin color, culture, etc., but that when it comes to our humanity, we’re all the same. It is completely possible to embrace the differences without placing them into some hierarchal structure.
With this in mind, we should talk about it, and talk about it, and talk about it until we get it through our heads that it’s okay to be different from one another because those differences DO NOT determine our worth as human beings.
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