Former President Barack Obama sparked outrage in MAGA World over the weekend with a post on X marking the beginning of Black History Month, triggering white conservatives who questioned the need for the annual observance and resurfaced an old “60 Minutes” interview where actor Morgan Freeman called the concept “ridiculous.”
Every year, Obama praises the merits of Black History Month on his social media account, and Saturday was no different, especially as President Donald Trump’s second administration had taken sweeping actions to undermine diversity initiatives at the federal level.
The backlash comes two weeks after Trump’s second inauguration, which coincidentally fell on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Immediately after taking the oath, Trump ordered government agencies to eliminate any DEI programs that gained momentum amid the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, during Trump’s first term.
During his Jan. 20 inaugural address, Trump noted that it was “Martin Luther King Day and his honor, this will be a great honor, but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.”
During his first hours as president, Trump banned all cultural awareness events, while the Defense Intelligence Agency halted all activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and other “special observances” in compliance with his executive order. All federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles were immediately placed on paid leave by the end of Trump’s third day in office.
Documents related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have been quietly removed from the websites of key federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
If it was Black History Month, it was hard to tell from what was happening in Washington.
As a result, Obama’s voice stood out on Feb. 1 as one of the few in the political spectrum willing to publicly acknowledge the significance of Black culture in American history.
“From our earliest days, Black history has always been American history—and Black folks have profoundly shaped our American culture through music, art, literature, sports, and beyond,” Obama wrote on X. “One month a year is not sufficient to celebrate the power of the movements and the people who have fought for the rights we enjoy today. That’s something that we have to do each and every day, as we strive to live up to their example and make sure our children and grandchildren remember their stories.”
But rather than embracing the value of a diverse nation and honoring Black history, white conservatives took aim at Obama, using Morgan Freeman’s old remarks as ammunition.
Freeman’s controversial “60 Minutes” interview aired in December 2005, nearly two decades ago, when he criticized Black History Month as “ridiculous.” In the interview with CBS News veteran Mike Wallace, Freeman argued that the way to combat racism was to stop talking about it and questioned why Black History Month should exist when there is no equivalent for white history.
After Obama’s uplifting message, conservatives wasted no time digging up the old Freeman news clip from YouTube and blasting it across X, where it went viral over the weekend, with white people denouncing Obama for recognizing Black culture and achievements and simultaneously praising Freeman as a Black man who was speaking their truth.
“Really Barry?” one person wrote in a repost, addressing the former president disrespectfully over the issue. “Please go back into your hole with Big Mike. We all are sick of you”
White folks had a field day propping up Freeman as a token who echoed their own bigoted viewpoints and used his words to dismiss the significance of Black History Month.
“Morgan Freeman is spot on,” another person chimed in before proceeding to distort the facts in an argument riddled with historical inaccuracies, fallacies, and false equivalence.
“Black people sold black slaves. White people abolished slavery. Morgan Freeman is spot on, black history month is a joke. The entire narrative has been flipped to make you think otherwise. History isn’t about feelings—it’s about facts. But they don’t want you to know that.”
Unlike the limited scope of African involvement, the European and American systems treated Black people as property, stripping them of their humanity for generations, separating families, and creating an enduring legacy of racial inequality. This level of dehumanization was never a feature of African participation in the slave trade.
Also, abolition was driven by both Black and white activists, with formerly enslaved Black people, like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman, leading the charge. The very need for Black History Month arose because traditional history often erased or minimized Black contributions.
Still, many white people remained entrenched in their misguided beliefs.
“Hmmmm so do we have a White History Month? A Red History Month? A Yellow History Month? A Brown History Month? Good God this sounds like a box of Crayola Crayons!!!” one person posted to X, but a few Black voices checked into the comments section to clap back.
“Why are you so pressed about black history month, it’s not for you to celebrate,” one person responded. “if you white folks wanna make your own white history month go ahead but it’s already 99% of history. black history month is a time for black people to look back at their history.”
Trump supporters also leaned into conspiratorial thinking, claiming a hidden force was altering history in favor of Black people. But in reality, history books have long downplayed the horrors of slavery and the systemic racism that followed. This is not the result of a secret agenda, but rather a long-standing issue of historical oversights and omissions.
Correcting it isn’t about flipping the narrative — it’s about telling the full story, say civil rights advocates. They argue that the only ones trying to suppress history are the same people banning books, restricting education on race, and attempting to whitewash America’s racist past.