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The case has been made several times before, but it deserves saying again this year. Black History Month is racist.

The month dedicated to the history and culture of America’s largest racial minority is not racist because of what it promotes, but more so in how it promotes.

Black history in America is American history. Black culture in America is American culture. The effort to promote education and literacy among these sections of our culture is noble and needed but the segregation is not.

Plus, is a month even an adequate amount of time to cover all of African-American history and culture? As Academy Award-winning actor and famously dark-skinned man Morgan Freeman told CBS in a 2005 60 Minutes interview, “You’re going to relegate my history to a month?”

Of course it doesn’t help that every month is _______ Awareness and/or Prevention Month. In case you’ve forgotten, February is also Electrical Safety Awareness Month, National Pet Dental Health Awareness Month and Heart Disease Awareness Month. That last one is a sad coincidence since African-American adults are more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease and die from heart disease than other race.

Kids are not born racist. People become racist because they are taught how to be by others. If Black History Month is truly an educational holiday, it will drop its moniker in favor of one less dividing. Perhaps African American studies month?

Words have power, and labels can hurt so let’s keep them from damaging and dividing American history and culture any further than they already do.

However, Black History Month is no way the only offender. We still have Women’s History Month, LGBT History Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, Jewish-American Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month and more.

In our modern age we’ve learned to make our ethnic holidays more inclusive. Everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day and there are enough tacos for everyone on Cinco de Mayo. In a time where discrimination lawsuits pose more damage threat than a car accident how split do we let ourselves become?

The more we divide our national identity the less we feel like a unified body. We are the United States of America, a melting-pot of culture and ideas. Splitting our history up into pieces is selfish, racist and un-American.