The Butler, The Help, oh MY!

There are a fair amount of people who feel African Americans do not need to portray maids, butlers and other servitude roles on screen.

I can understand to a certain extent, even in my own life I felt taking subservient roles to be beneath me. Yet ironically, I ended up working in service jobs for much of my working life.

I will never forget a short conversation I had as a child with my aunt from Alabama. She saw me writing and said I would make an excellent secretary. Thinking that was beneath me, I said "No I will be a doctor!!"

What am I doing now to make ends meet?

Joke is on me.

To my aunt, a secretary was highly regarded. Imagine living in a time when higher education was out of reach and the only jobs available were cleaning, taking care of children or working the land. Working in a fancy office was a major step up.

Domestic work was and is honest. The work allowed future generations to obtain a higher education. And even now, many people rely on labor like this to provide for their families.Good and honest work. Which should pay more, but that's a subject for another blog post...

So who am I to put anyone down because of their trade or occupation?

I saw The Butler and thought it was an excellent depiction of a family living during one of the most challenging times in history. More important, it portrayed a man of dignity, integrity, and pride. A man who was able to interface with countless Presidents during his work at The White House. His story is important, incredibly important. As an actor I would consider it an honor to be apart of a film like The Help or The Butler.

As a woman of faith, I find it interesting how the people in these roles had the responsibility and the privilege to make history, change perceptions about race, and pave the way for our future as a people. Sometimes God uses the least regarded to accomplish great things. Rosa Parks just popped into my head, she worked in a t-shirt factory until she became a secretary at the NAACP offices. From t-shirt factory worker to world changer. There is no shame in that.

Here is a description of a very interesting scene in The Butler. Explains my thoughts better than anything I can write.

Black domestic workers, King tells Louis, have played an important role in the struggle for civil rights. At first Louis assumes this is meant as mockery, but King presses on. Maids, butlers, nannies and other domestics have defied racist stereotypes by being trustworthy, hardworking and loyal, King says; in maintaining other people’s households and raising other people’s children, they have gradually broken down hardened and hateful attitudes. Their apparent subservience is also quietly subversive. This poignant and humbling recognition of the sacrifices made by millions of African-Americans who appeared to have no voice is an important turning point for Louis...retrieved from the following article

After years of serving others in the White House, we have an African American serving as President. I have no doubt those who served in overlooked roles paved the way.