Morgan Freeman says that he finds Black History Month to be an insult and doesn’t like the term “African American.” Freeman discussed his opinion on the matter during a recent interview with The Sunday Times while promoting Zach Braff’s A Good Person. The comments have since begun circulating on social media.
“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? 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.”
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In response, The Sunday Times interviewer brought up the famous remark from Denzel Washington: “I’m very proud to be Black, but Black is not all I am.” In response, Freeman added: “Yes, exactly. I’m in total agreement. You can’t define me that way.”
The comments sparked debate on social media. The Game commented on a post of the news from The Shade Room: “We gone give Unc a pass on mongrel.. what he meant is people who have multiple mixes at this point in life & not aware of their true origin because of our history.” Another user wrote: “I agree with him. I ain’t African American either. I’m AMERICAN. None of my people are from Africa. I was born here. Black people have BEEN in this country free before slavery.”
Morgan’s opinion echoes similar remarks to those made by Idris Elba, earlier this year. The star of The Wire had said that he doesn’t consider himself a “Black actor,” while speaking with Esquire. The remark sparked backlash online.
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