For those who haven’t read the reviews or seen the promo trailer
of The Butler, the storyline is based
on the real-life accounts of Eugene Allen, a White House butler who serviced through
eight presidential administrations. From 1952 through 1986 he had a unique view
of notable events in the Civil Rights Movement---the Freedom Riders, sit-ins
and voter registrations drives in the South and the tear gassings, attack dogs and
fire bombings designed to try to stop them. But as the New York Times movie reviewer so aptly put it, “The genius of ‘The
Butler’ lies in the sly and self-assured way it connects public affairs to
private experience. Early on, Cecil Gaines, the character loosely based on Mr.
Allen, is taught that he, like every other African-American who wants to
survive in a white-dominated world, must have two faces.”
I am white. I think you all know that from the photo in the
right hand column. But what you don’t know is I am a white woman who was raised
in a white neighborhood, went to an all white grade school, high school and
college. In all my years in the work place I never had an African American
co-worker. I do, however, have vivid memories of watching the news with my
father that came out of places like Birmingham,
Alabama, of the non-violent Civil Rights sit-ins
that were met by high pressured fire hoses and attack dogs. It affected my dad
to his core and we had a lot of talks about race after that. He was raised in
southern Illinois and had witnessed the “handiwork” of the Ku Klux Klan---hangings
and cross burnings---and his father had experienced racism as an Italian
immigrant working in the coal mines where Italians were paid less than the whites
but more than the blacks all doing the same job. Dad had even been to a funeral
where he was shocked to see their neighbor reposed in his coffin all dressed up
in a white sheet and hood. Dad said it was the only time a Klansman would
reveal his identity to the public. One sign-of-the-times he grew up in always
stuck in my mind. He said even as a boy of 8-10 years old he could never
understand why grown black men always stepped off the sidewalk to let him pass
by.
Fast forward to a time when Dad was dying of cancer and Tiger
Woods had broken the color barrier in professional golf to go on to win the
1999 PGA Championship. Dad was so proud that he had lived long enough to see America’s
race relationships change that much. I wish he could have lived long enough to
see Obama get elected. Eugene Allen, the butler, did and he was invited to be an
honorary guest at the Obama’s presidential inauguration.
We often think the times we grew up and live in are nothing special
or noteworthy. We think what happens in the news is just part of the daily
stress or white noise of living in a complex society. History before we were
born always seems more important, more interesting and more dramatic, then
a movie comes along showing news clip after news clip that proves
otherwise. I lived through the booming post WWII 40s, the idyllic (if you’re
white) 50s, the turbulent 60s and 70s and so on. I didn’t have a part
in helping to change the world regarding race relationships in this country. It was only through my association with my dad and his hope-for-the-world-to-change that I
had the table set for me to look beyond race when people like Barbara Jordan,
Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama and countless others living ordinary lives came along. Thanks, Dad, for
that. America
is growing up---still has a long way to go but we’ll get there eventually.
That’s what The Butler gives to those
who see the movie…a gut wrenching emotional experience at first, then pride
that meaningful changes can be documented over just one man’s lifetime. At least
that was the consensus at my all white movie and lunch club. Black movie goers
might not agree. They might wonder why it took so long. One thing I do know for sure is the movie isn’t just about
black history---quote, unquote---it’s about everyone’s
collective history. ©
Movie Trailer
Movie Trailer
