Legendary actor Morgan Freeman is blasting the continued promotion of Black History Month, the annual February tradition, saying its commemoration is at odds with his beliefs about how the country has to move forward on issues of race.

“My history is American history,” Morgan, 87, told Variety. Speaking of Black History Month, he added, “I detest it. The mere idea of it. You are going to give me the shortest month in a year? And you are going to celebrate ‘my’ history?! This whole idea makes my teeth itch. It’s not right.”

“It’s the one thing in this world I am interested in, beyond making money, having a good time and getting enough sleep.”

The past is very much on Freeman’s mind. He just wrapped a role as executive producer of “The Gray House,” a Civil War-era streaming series about female spies including a Virginia socialite, a formerly enslaved Black woman, and a high-end prostitute, all of whom served the Union and are counted as unsung heroes in helping to end the conflict.

“If you don’t know your past, if you don’t remember it, you are bound to repeat it,” Morgan told Variety, a poignant sentiment in an election year. “Do you know this song? ‘To everything, there is a season.’ It really, really works in showbusiness. You are trying to sell something 15 years ago and nobody even looks at you. Then they go: ‘Didn’t you have a project, some time ago? Do you still have it?’ Life is like that, in this industry. You have got something you think is important, but trying to convince others is the difficult part.”

Speaking of his new series, which also counts Kevin Costner in its production staff, Morgan said, “It’s so wide-ranging. There are so many people in the series, because we are acknowledging they were there. If you can do that, if you are given space to do that, bravo. It didn’t just happen to one group of people.”

“[With a story like this] you are encouraged to dig. And if you are going to dig, you are going to come up with something.”

Director Lori McCreary said she hopes viewers realize that the vast depth of heritage cannot be summed up with a traditional holiday or commemoration. “We are not white-washing, we are not sugar-coating the fact that African Americans were enslaved. They weren’t treated as a full person. When you come out of watching these eight hours, maybe you will look at someone who looks like Morgan or me differently. You will understand their experience, their ancestors’ experience and you will be able to relate.”