He really raises some interesting issues with this 60 minutes interview. This is what he said:
"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."
He also goes on to say:
Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."
The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.
"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.
Yup, if we get away from the labels we will eventually see everyone as just Americans. Sometimes the words "white and black" carry some of the baggage of racism. Nowadays something like a "White History Month" could only be seen as something that would exclude other races. I can already hear the cries of racism pointed toward a person advocating such a month.
So a black history month *could* be thought of as doing the same. In other words providing a history month that excludes other Americans points out that they are singled out from other Americans. So their history could be misinterpreted as separate from everyone else's.
They should have a shared history because they do have a shared history. And thus they should be included with all the other races living in the US with an American History Month. Such a month should go through the entire American experience warts and all. Celebrate building the Panama Canal and the going to war for Europe but at the same time denigrate the killing of the Indians and Slavery. So it would go from Americas highest highs and then our lowest lows and everything in between. We should be honoring all of us and not just singling out one group or the other for whatever reason.
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