Why Maxwell…WHY???

R&B/Neo-Soul crooner Maxwell set off a social media firestorm on Wednesday evening when he sent out some very bizarre and ill-advised tweets about Black History Month.

Maxwell’s tweets seemed to imply that Black History Month is not inclusive of those who aren’t “typical Black” and that other groups should be included.

“Including everyone in black history month is beneficial to all of us cause not all of us look a typical black”, Maxwell tweeted, including a photo of acting icon Lena Horne to emphasize his point.

Maxwell gave no explanation of what he meant by “typical Black” and further fueled the controversy by tweeting the hashtag “#blackblueredwhitebiegehistory”.

The singer responded to one of his critics by commenting “there was a president his mom was white do you recall…?” and even firing off an angry DM to another, where he snapped “Check the numbers, bitch.”

Well, ok then…

Since Maxwell has deleted these tweets, it’s hard to determine the actual basis of his argument that Black History Month is not inclusive enough.

Was he referring to people of African descent who have contributed to our history, but receive no recognition because they do not bear the physical features of Blackness in their hair, features or skin tone?

Or was he implying that “everyone” should include people who are not of African descent, or those who are but don’t claim it?

Using Lena Horne and President Barack Obama doesn’t clarify his argument, because despite their appearance and racial makeup, neither of these public figures have been excluded from the celebrations of Black history.

I hate to say it, but until he says otherwise, it seems like Maxwell may have jumped on the #AllHistoryMatters bandwagon, further downplaying the necessity of acknowledging the contributions of Black Americans exclusively.

It’s bad enough that our community is expected to cram the richness of our stories into one short month, but hearing this from a musical veteran who once seasoned his image with unapologetic Blackness (remember that glorious Afro?) is downright disappointing.

Maybe Maxwell should limit his confusing thoughts to his music until he is able to articulate them better, and lay off Twitter for a while. You’d think he would’ve learned that through the guy who currently occupies the White House…