"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man"
About this Quote
The intent is pointedly interpersonal. He’s not addressing policy or history; he’s targeting the everyday habit of turning people into categories before they’ve even spoken. The subtext is a bet: that constant naming keeps the wound open, not because naming creates racism, but because it continually refreshes racial difference as the primary lens. If you stop saying it, maybe you stop rehearsing it.
Context matters because Freeman often delivers this in interview settings where the question itself presumes race as the central theme of his life. His refusal is also a performance choice: he won’t be cast as “the Black actor” answering for Blackness. That’s both liberating and provocative. Critics hear an easy escape hatch from structural inequality; supporters hear a grown-up impatience with performative guilt and perpetual sorting.
What makes it work is its simplicity. It’s not a manifesto; it’s an invitation to change the terms of address. Freeman understands that in America, labels don’t just describe people. They manage them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Freeman, Morgan. (2026, January 18). I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-going-to-stop-calling-you-a-white-man-and-im-945/
Chicago Style
Freeman, Morgan. "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-going-to-stop-calling-you-a-white-man-and-im-945/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-am-going-to-stop-calling-you-a-white-man-and-im-945/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.











