Morgan Freeman
On this date in 2005, Actor Morgan Freeman dismissed America's Black History Month as "ridiculous."
Freeman, who won the Oscar for best-supporting actor in 2005 for "Million Dollar Baby," said he hoped to see an end to the annual series of events in February. "Black history is American history," Freeman said in a BBC interview. Freeman also said the only way to end racism was to "stop talking about it."
He called for an end to the words "black" and "white." "I am going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I don't want a black history month. You're going to relegate my history to a month?"
Black History Month, held every February, was established in 1976 as part of the U.S. bicentennial celebrations. It has its origins in Negro History Week, which began in 1926. The founder of the week of celebrations, historian Carter G. Woodson, said he hoped it would end when Black history became fundamental to American history.
