The Help by Kathrym Stockett

I am so glad this book has become so popular!  Every now and again a book comes around that is both entertaining, relevant, and helps people keep perspective on our culture.  Americans think awfully high of ourselves for a country that was extremely oppressive less than one lifetime ago.  I have been talking to my mom and my dad about the book; they are both in their early sixties and were actually alive during the civil rights movement.  My mom grew up in the South and she confirms that the book is not exaggerating and that people truly treated African Americans that way.  In Virginia and Georgia where she grew up the mentality was deep rooted.  My dad had a very different experience since he grew up on air force bases.  The schools and facilities on the bases were fully integrated.  He shared stories of going to Metter, GA to visit family and seeing firsthand what life was like outside of the base.  He remembers the separate water fountains at the Piggly Wiggly and watching as African Americans walked down the street with their eyes cast downward to avoid starting a fight.  He told me how sad it made him.  As I read the book I thought about the courage it took to start the civil rights movement and what tremendous sacrifices were made.  I am so thankful to have grown up in a time and in a home that raised me that people are people and should be judged on merit not on characteristics.  In Georgia I can still see traces of that horrible mentality but I am thankful that they continue to fade.  I am very excited to see the movie and I hope all of you read the book!