This week, we say goodbye to the shortest month of the year — the necessary Black History Month.

The month receives much grief, most notably from Morgan Freeman, who said in a 2005 interview that the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it.

I respectfully disagree.

Racism does not disappear by a simple lack of discussion. This is something that can eventually happen, but Freeman seems to see the situation as somewhat rosier than I — more power to him.

I side with historian Carter G. Woodson, founder of the original Negro History Week, who said this month should remain an institution until deemed unnecessary.

The month is not a superfluous idea yet. Maybe in cultures where discrimination did not begin with a simple classification of skin color, you could argue this.

The United States is not one of those places.

It seems to always be the Europeans versus the darker-skinned world. We are taking steps in the right direction — and have been for years — but banishing Black History Month is not the right move.

How would it look to cancel a month with actual significance while National Hot Dog Month lives on?

Biology freshman Ben McHugh took a different angle, saying Black History Month used to be a beautiful thing, but “humans turned it into a heartless money grab.”

McHugh said all awareness months have been over-hyped.

Can you hype cancer enough? How about bullying or sexual assault?

Some of them are ridiculous (see Jazz Appreciation Month), but many make sense and shine a light on an otherwise passed-over cause.

Black History Month gives teachers a reason to focus on African-American history in class, provides a reason to host awareness events and encourages do-gooders to do more ephemeral good. This is not something that needs to change.

There is nothing to be gained by crossing Black History Month off the list of cause-supporting times. Arguing against Black History Month is like arguing against Mother’s Day.

Sure, we all know mothers exist and to be one is difficult, but that does not mean a day’s worth of extra attention serves them poorly.

A month with more attention to race can serve us all well.

To those who say there is no White History Month or anything else: Caucasians already dominate the history books, commercials and American popular culture. What more do you want?

Plus, there is an Irish-American Heritage Month, a Haitian Month, an Asian-Pacific American Month, a Caribbean American Month and a Filipino American History Month.

We don’t hear quite as much about those, and maybe that’s the base issue.

If we as a nation paid more attention to these months — mentioned them in history classes and introduced literature from these cultures in English courses — we could be a more well-rounded people.

Or maybe we would throw ourselves too many places at once, because there is no way to include everything in a curriculum.

I am not saying there is no way to fit African-Americans and other minorities into the United States’ current narrative, just that setting aside time to acknowledge that we have not is better than ignoring the problem.

Taking Freeman’s route would erase this nod, and considering we still have a number of people who voted against President Barack Obama just because he’s black, that nod is still imperative.

Yes, there is progress. No, there should not have to be. But there is, and there should continue to be.

And progress does not include rescinding February’s other title.

Megan Dunbar is a 19-year-old English junior from Greenville, S.C.