A 2005 clip of Morgan Freeman is circulating on social media as Black History Month kicks off, showing the actor’s distaste for the time of the year when the contributions of African Americans to the U.S. are honored.
Speaking to “60 Minutes,” Mike Wallace was taken aback by his reaction to Black History Month, which Freeman panned as “ridiculous.”
“You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” he asks in the clip. “What do you do with yours? Which month is White History Month?”
Wallace pauses before telling Freeman he’s Jewish. The actor then asks if he’d like a Jewish History Month.
Wallace says he does not.
“Oh, why not? Why not? You don’t want one? I don’t either,” Freeman replies. “I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.”
“How are we going to get rid of racism?” Wallace wonders.
"Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man," Freeman says to Wallace. "And I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You wouldn't say, 'Well, I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.' You know what I'm sayin'?"
Happy Black History Month pic.twitter.com/x0PVOq5WLP
— Wojciech Pawelczyk (@WojPawelczyk) February 1, 2024
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Freeman’s beliefs over the years have not changed. He spoke about how ‘insulting’ Black History Month is last year during an interview with The Sunday Times.
“Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” he said.
“Also, ‘African American’ is an insult,” Freeman added. “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.”
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