“You is kind. You is smart. You is important”. Aibilene tells Mae Mobley this everyday. Mae is a the white child Aibilene cares after as her own because her white, privileged, racist mother doesn’t. The Help is the story of a local Journalist “Skeeter” who seeks to tell the truth behind what it is like the be a black maid like Aibilene in Jackson MS in the 1960s. The 1960s were the height of the Civil Rights movement when blacks were fighting with Martin Luther King Jr for their freedom and Whites were convinced that blacks were diseased, dirty made for serving and less than human. Skeeter was raised by a black maid just as most of the other rich white children in Jackson were. Skeeter loved her maid and sees her differently than the other white women do. Skeeter gets the idea to interview the maids about what it is like to work for white people and raise their children. They are at first reluctant because they know it is illegal and that they are in danger for even speaking with Skeeter but after so much horrible treatment they agree to do it. I suggest you read the book or watch the movie and see for yourself the heartfelt story that is truly a great and unique account of history.
The movie to me was somewhat hard to watch, not because I was shocked at the racism or the way people thought and were treated because I was expecting that and know that it was far worse than the movie portrayed. It was hard for me because it is a story of injustice and though we have made progress it still exists. It was hard for me because sitting in a theatre full of white people crying over the harsh words and then the reconciliation between the characters seemed strange to me. I think it’s strange because I know at least half of those people believe that racism existed a long time ago and it’s not that big of a deal now an people have all the same rights and freedoms. It was hard because I can safely assume that most white people won’t walk away from that movie realizing that was only fifty years go and that it still has an effect on the way things are today. That was not just a story made up of past times meant to entertain, it was an account of how life was and it has remnants today.Those women have similar stories to my friends great grandmother. A woman who knew her daughter was not going to be a maid, her daughter who then went to college, got a masters degree an had children who went to college. That’s only 3 generations away. 50 years is not a long time ago. 50 years is a mear blip in time and in the development of humans and culture. Just because slavery was illegal on paper doesn’t mean that racism stopped. Racism is institutionalized and especially older people have grown up with these thoughts in ignorance not even knowing that they themselves have some of the same ideas that the white women of The Help had. It was hard for me because I know this injustice still exists an the only way to change it is to have relationships with the wronged people Iike Skeeter did. Instead people will walk out of this movie feeling emotional and entertained and drive their luxury cars back to their gated community and sleep sound changing nothing about their lives. It was hard for me because I wish I could change that. If you take away anything from this movie/ book please let it be that there is injustice that is still institutionalized in this world and that you and I as white people are somewhat responsible for that. However we can change it by having relationships and breaking down the walls that are set up to hold people back. Think about why things are the way they are and have grace in your understanding of other cultures. Work on getting outside your comfort zone and Tell someone who doesn’t look like you that they are kind they are smart and they are important by building a relationship, empathizing with their struggles and loving them.
