The Butler Civil Rights Movement

Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.

In 1960, there were tremendous of social ferment that was responsible for agitation and protest. Through direct protest, many African Americans, women, and homosexuals were able to gain recognition and break down the walls of discrimination and segregations. Out of the numerous elements that arose in the 1960s, there are three movements that truly affected the American society. Firstly, the rise of the civil rights movement was greatly influenced by racial discrimination of colored people in the South. Secondly, the women’s movement aimed to convince the society that women are capable of achieving and maintaining higher waged job like males. Lastly, the gay rights movement aimed to gain acceptance and stop discrimination of homosexuality. The most significant effect on the development of American society was the women’s movement and how they expanded their economic and political opportunities. The common goal among African Americans, women’s, and homosexuals was to obtain their equal rights as citizens of America and to desegregate all the boundaries between white and black population.

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

This research paper gave you an insight trough the black history of America and connected dots between reality and the movie The Butler. All the questions, which were asked in the introduction, can be answered now. The first point of this research paper deals with the question: “Why do Cecil and Louis have so different views towards the Civil Rights Movement?” So the answer is, that Louis do not want to accept his father's attitude towards the Civil Rights Movement. Louis and his father have completely different views towards the Civil Rights Movement. The age or Cecil's former life can also be a reason for their different points of view. Louis and his friends fight for equal rights whereas his father, is only observing from the outside. Louis becomes angry with his father, because he sees how his father works for the President in the White House everyday, and does not try anything to influence them. But Louis does not know, that his father influences the Presidents unconsciously. Even Cecil does not know that. But as you read

In this essay, both texts, “To kill a Mockingbird” and “The Help”, will be looked at in depth, and the range of literary devices and techniques used in order to portray the theme of racism will be analyzed. The emotional attachment between protagonists, and the positive perspectives shared by characters portray the overall theme of racism and how this is oppressive for all people involved.

The African American Civil right movement in the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s was a powerful fight for equal opportunities to the basic rights and privileges outlined by the US government. During this movement thousands of African American individuals and those who believed in the power of the movement, battled against the piercing white supremacy through various tactics including grass root movements. The grass root movements in the 60’s was characterized by organizations of individuals fighting for equality on the behalf of the African Americans, ultimately shaping American history. Such movements helped to raise awareness on a political level, of the injustice all African American’s endured. Grassroots activist during the 60’s were able to organize marches, rallies and protests in order to mobilize and strengthen the Civil Rights Movement. Grass rooting activism during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s shaped American History by aiding in the abolished laws restricting African American’s freedom to vote, the abolishment of segregation in school, and the passage of the Civil Rights act outlawing discrimination.

While the differences between the book and movie are noticeable, the similarities are salient and unmistakable, and while there are changes the ultimate messages and themes about family stay the same. However, one could claim that the movie was less invested in developing the characters that were described in the book and their relationships with each other and more invested in bringing light to the civil rights movement and racial inequality. This compare and contrast essay will be analyzing these character and plot changes and how they may support the idea that the writers were more interested in the racism aspect of “The Watsons go to Birmingham” and maybe theorize why the screenwriters wrote it to be like that.

The African American civil rights movement was a long journey for African American nationwide. The success involved many people, hardships and time in order to advance the African American community in America. The purpose of the movement was to achieve their rights, cease discrimination, and racial segregation.

Lots of civil rights protests seemed to turn violent, but why? Protests such as Bloody Sunday turned violent because law enforcement was ethnocentric. Police were prejudiced because that’s what they were taught. Non-violent protests provoked violence, and although this was not intentional it helped spread the word of equality for the black race.

One movie representation of Chapter 10, Race and Ethnicity, is seen in Lee Daniel’s The Butler. The Butler was released to the public on August 16, 2013. Though the character storyline is inaccurate, the movie is based off of Eugene Allen and his experience working in the White House from the Truman era to the Reagan era.

The American Civil Rights Movement is personified through several prominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. One such figure was Bayard Rustin, a lifelong Civil Rights activist in the African American and LGBTQ communities whose experiences exemplified the hardships faced by American minorities. His career was defined by perpetual conflict and confrontation as both sides of the Civil Rights Movement attempted to demonize and discredit him. Despite this obstacle, Bayard Rustin’s controversial decision-making and sheer tenacity made him an influential force in the ongoing fight for equality in the United States of America.

The Civil Rights movement is one of the most important acts to change the way not only African Americans were able to live their lives but all races and colors. It would slowly break down the social, economic, political, and racial barriers that were created by the The Age of Discovery and Transatlantic Slave trade. I believe without the Civil Rights acts our country would result to be no better than what it was when the Emancipation Proclamation just took effect. In the 1950s and long before, Southern folk, who were white had created a system that would interpret them as a superior race over blacks. The system would defend whites rights and privileges from being taken away from them while establishing terrible inhumane suffering for African Americans. In the South blacks were controlled in all aspects economic, political, and personal, this was called a “tripartite system of domination” - (Aldon D. Morris) (6) Though it isn’t as prevalent racism and discrimination towards other races that aren’t white is still found in America and can be in schools, the workplace, even when you are in the general public but you no longer see discriminating signs saying “Whites” or “Blacks” or Colored” along the front of bathroom, restaurants, and shopping malls doors. Nor do you see people being declined the right to buy a home based on their color or access to school and an equal education being declined because one didn’t meet racial requirements. The acts of violence towards

The movie, The Butler (2013), by Lee Daniels, proves a vivid image of how an African American family (the Gaines) handle and identify with the historical struggles of the civil rights movements. The main characters are Cecil Gaines, Louis Gaines, and Charlie Gaines and all three men were victims of violence, unequal rights, and limit resources. Cecil is the father of the family who tries to provide better opportunities for his family by being a servant (house nigger) to a butler at the White House. He was a butler for eight presidential administrations and became blind to the harsh reality of segregation. Louis Gaines was the eldest son who decide to attend the Fisk University to be civil rights activist

The film focuses on African American historical events, with special concentration on the civil rights era. With the White House segments of the film starting in the oppressive Eisenhower years, it offers a presidential level insight into the historic freedom movements of the 1960’s, all the way through until the day that Barack Obama is elected president in 2008. I am going to argue that Daniels’ representation of history and race are much more than a ‘parody of historical drama’, as he defies the ‘conventional’ stereotypes of Hollywood (Martin 2013) through the focus on individual character depictions and rejection of generalisations seen previously in African American films.

“ The Butler “movie is a perfect example that explains the ratial struggle that black people had in that time. details a sort of narrative view of the civil rights era .Throughout the movie it sees the African-Americans hard-working as they navigated those tortured decades. It shows you by differents points of view with each member of Cecil Gaines’ family the road they choose to progress in their personal way, knowing their dreams are unreachable in this society, and the pain they received by wanting to pursue them. These dreams mostly involve wealth and having a good way of life. In that time, the stereotypical American dream was to have a comfortable house with a yard, a big car, and a happy family, the black people seemed that as a very difficult task to achieve with all this