Aibileen and Skeeter

Last night Rosemary and I went to see The Help. The film, based on Kathryn Stockett's novel, is set in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter is a recent grad of Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi) and returns home to pursue her dream of being a writer. Aibileen is a maid and suffers the indignities that nearly all domestics suffered in the 1960s. Although these women often provided the love and stability that some homes lacked, many were underpaid, poorly treated and disrespected. Skeeter gets Aibileen to open up and talk about her relationship with her employers. Other maids join her and Skeeter documents their stories in a tell-all book.
With a mix of humor and social commentary, The Help reminds us that we are not that far away from a horrible time in our national history. It has been not quite 50 years since we enacted legislation that made civil behavior toward others, law. My paternal grandmother worked for many years as a maid at the Lombardy Hotel in New York City. Nana Farmer was The Help. She had no Skeeter.