Fighting the remnants of segregation

Morgan Freeman is one of the finest actors of our generation, probably best known for his performance in The Shawshank Redemption, which is in my opinion in the inner circle of the greatest movies ever. But he is also a great man, and as we have reached the early stages of Black History Month it's worth looking back on his stinging comments on the subject that aired on 60 Minutes the Sunday before Christmas.

He called the concept of a month dedicated to black history "ridiculous."

"You're going to relegate my history to a month? I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

He noted that there is no "white history month," and said the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it." 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.

Indeed, historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln and which was the forerunner of Black History Month, was never meant to be permanent. Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated — when black history would become fundamental to American history.

I think we reached that point a long time ago, and it's time to stop this vestige of segregation. "Black history is American history." Perfectly stated.