“You’re going to relegate my history to a month?” asked Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman in a 2008 interview for CBS’s 60 Minutes when asked his opinion about Black History Month. Four years later, entertainer Whoopi Goldberg briefly groans at the fact that Black History Month lasts only 28 days on the ABC talk show The View. I asked a friend of mine yesterday what Black History Month meant to him. And while he recognized its importance, the tradition of celebrating the month was the only point he could make.

Indifference of this month has been a norm for younger generations, but it seems like older generations are starting to share the consensus. The problem for many people is Black History Month (like every other habitual holiday in America) yields no meaning after it’s over. It’s the gaudy decorations that comes out one month out the year and goes back into your closet when the season’s over. Because of the short period, there’s no need to extensively reflect and no reason to relate.

What’s tradition without relevance?

When we forget why we celebrate something, it becomes pointless. In its original conception, this month was proclaimed as a reminder of black people’s contributions to this country. Seeing as America is increasingly becoming more diverse, now it’s just a reminder that we’re still here. Moreover, it has demoted black Americans’ contributions. Were they only significant enough to praise for a month’s span? While acknowledgment is always welcomed, it seems like Black History Month is a way for America to give the African American community a condescending gold star for its efforts.

Is this month America’s way eradicating racism?

The key moment in Freeman’s interview, was when he exclaimed, “Black history is American history.” Journalist Mike Wallace then followed up with, “How are we going to get rid of racism?” It’s safe to say Wallace was implying that this month served the purpose of removing latent traces of racism against blacks in today’s society through recognition, in his mind at least. But is racism only black and white, literally and figuratively, Wallace? Designating a month for the promotion of one ethnic group isn’t acceptable because we live in a country built by many different ethnic backgrounds. Like Freeman said, it’s not just my history or blacks’ history, it’s America’s history. We should be celebrated wholly for our joint efforts in creating this nation before us today.

So why is it still us versus them?

We all realize America is almost unique to the world when it comes to identifying citizens. We prefix ethnic background before nationality. Why aren’t we just Americans? How can we move past racism if we continue to promote separatism? Freeman’s profound last statement in his interview about racism was, “I’m going to stop calling you a white man, and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.” Likewise, we shouldn’t use labels when dealing with different races. If you’re American, that’s good enough for me.