In a new interview, actor Morgan Freeman again expressed his frustration with Black Americans settling for the arbitrary label “African American”.
Freeman revisited the subject in an exclusive interview with writer Jonathan Dean in The Sunday Times, to promote his new movie A Good Person.
The 85-year-old star of The Shawshank Redemption, Glory, Invictus, and Driving Miss Daisy, said, despite racism, Black actors today are progressing “in leaps and bounds.”
Dean mentioned a TV interview in 2005, in which Freeman said the only way to get rid of racism was to stop talking about it. “I’m going to stop calling you a white man,” he told the white host, “and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.”
Dean asked if Freeman still feels the same today.
“Two things I can say publicly that I do not like,” Freeman responded: “Black History Month is an insult. You’re going to relegate my history to a month?”
He continued:
“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.”
Morgan added: “I’m very proud to be black, but black is not all I am… You can’t define me that way.”
Morgan Freeman is factually, one of the smartest black Americans in the nation. He knows when his race is being used as a pawn. And how its a slap in the face.
— Morning (@codecirclenet) April 17, 2023
Actor Morgan Freeman tore apart the term "African-American" and argued that the celebration of Black History Month was an "insult". We may not agree on everything, but this man is a Giant!
— MMSC (@Fishsoup62) April 17, 2023
Mr Freeman . Thank you for showing history that truly matters . We need to see more black history like this, year round( not just a “ month”) . The good stuff . That built ??. The joy, pain, and the never quit attitude of who we are . God bless
— ???John Mury??? (@MuryJohn) April 17, 2023
