"The Help"
I finally got to see "The Help", I was whisked back to '63, in Jackson, Mississippi. It was not a good place to be. Medgar Evers was shot and killed in his driveway for trying to get black people registered to vote. That was the summer the three civil rights workers were missing. They later found them in a shallow grave in the backwoods of Mississippi. Black people were called colored then as well. A lot of women worked as maids or cleaned to put food on the table. My mother never had to do that, when she worked she worked at the hospital in the kitchen as a dietary assistant. She later would get jobs running the register in a grocery store, and other things when it became economically necessary. My dad on the other hand was a janitor, maintenance person, orderly, and a few other things before going in the coal mines. My grandmother and some of her sisters, my aunts, worked as "The Help", as well as some of our neighbors and some of the people we went to church with worked as "The Help'.
They helped with the children, cleaned and cooked, did laundry. Sometimes we got some of the hand -me-downs from the people they worked for. My next door neighbor had a set of encyclopedias, we used for our schoolwork, that her employer gave her. An old bike, old board games. At our house, my dad got old furnishings, when they got ready to redecorate, guess who got the old stuff. In my house I have a claw foot library table that someone gave my dad, an iron bed my sister has, a red leather chair, my mom had recovered later. There were hand-me-down clothes as well. When there was a party and my grandmother worked it, she got food to take home. That was probably the good parts of the job. I am sure there were very hard parts of the job to endure. The people employing help wanted things done a certain way, even if it didn't make sense. They took care of their children and as the children got older they loved those who helped take care of them, but later they showed a lack of respect for "The Help", because they were the help.
Those that worked at the homes were set up to see if they would steal. Money and jewelery were left out on purpose to see if someone would touch anything. In the movie, they couldn't use the same bathrooms in the house. I am not sure what happened here. Most of the people here treated "The Help" like family at times. "The Help" listened and knew what was happening in the house and in the business. When I first started working at WJLS, there was a cleaning lady there named "Marie". I remember her getting me a key to the ladies restroom, they kept it locked on the weekends and I was one of the first women that they had hired in the job as an announcer and I worked nights and weekends. She told me how to carry myself, how to dress. Later when more women came to work there, one came not really dressed appropriately, and she handed them a sweater. She told me not to make any mistakes, be careful. My mom also told me I had to work twice as hard and stay out of the politics of a situation. So I came early, and did extra things on my shift. If I worked Sunday, I dressed like I was going to church.
I can identify with Avaline at the end of the movie. My last day at WJLS as I turned in my key, I just said God help you and left. I felt free. The younger folks need to see this. The maids took their job seriously and took pride in what they did. I am sure they had dreams, but realistically there were limited opportunities for them. My grandmother wanted Sharon to become a dietitian. Rihanna is on track to do that. They wanted me to be a nurse, because I would always have work. I didn't listen. I wanted to do radio. After I went to work my pastor at the time was maintenance supervisor at the VA hospital. He had gotten people jobs at the VA. He asked my grandmother if I wanted a job working in an office as a file clerk. I was already working. If I knew then what I know now, I would have taken the job as the file clerk.
When you see someone doing a job, cleaning or any job as "The Help," respect them. Sometimes that is the only job they can get, or they need the money. Give them the respect. There are a lot of things that I could say about "The Help", I have to come back later and say more.
They helped with the children, cleaned and cooked, did laundry. Sometimes we got some of the hand -me-downs from the people they worked for. My next door neighbor had a set of encyclopedias, we used for our schoolwork, that her employer gave her. An old bike, old board games. At our house, my dad got old furnishings, when they got ready to redecorate, guess who got the old stuff. In my house I have a claw foot library table that someone gave my dad, an iron bed my sister has, a red leather chair, my mom had recovered later. There were hand-me-down clothes as well. When there was a party and my grandmother worked it, she got food to take home. That was probably the good parts of the job. I am sure there were very hard parts of the job to endure. The people employing help wanted things done a certain way, even if it didn't make sense. They took care of their children and as the children got older they loved those who helped take care of them, but later they showed a lack of respect for "The Help", because they were the help.
Those that worked at the homes were set up to see if they would steal. Money and jewelery were left out on purpose to see if someone would touch anything. In the movie, they couldn't use the same bathrooms in the house. I am not sure what happened here. Most of the people here treated "The Help" like family at times. "The Help" listened and knew what was happening in the house and in the business. When I first started working at WJLS, there was a cleaning lady there named "Marie". I remember her getting me a key to the ladies restroom, they kept it locked on the weekends and I was one of the first women that they had hired in the job as an announcer and I worked nights and weekends. She told me how to carry myself, how to dress. Later when more women came to work there, one came not really dressed appropriately, and she handed them a sweater. She told me not to make any mistakes, be careful. My mom also told me I had to work twice as hard and stay out of the politics of a situation. So I came early, and did extra things on my shift. If I worked Sunday, I dressed like I was going to church.
I can identify with Avaline at the end of the movie. My last day at WJLS as I turned in my key, I just said God help you and left. I felt free. The younger folks need to see this. The maids took their job seriously and took pride in what they did. I am sure they had dreams, but realistically there were limited opportunities for them. My grandmother wanted Sharon to become a dietitian. Rihanna is on track to do that. They wanted me to be a nurse, because I would always have work. I didn't listen. I wanted to do radio. After I went to work my pastor at the time was maintenance supervisor at the VA hospital. He had gotten people jobs at the VA. He asked my grandmother if I wanted a job working in an office as a file clerk. I was already working. If I knew then what I know now, I would have taken the job as the file clerk.
When you see someone doing a job, cleaning or any job as "The Help," respect them. Sometimes that is the only job they can get, or they need the money. Give them the respect. There are a lot of things that I could say about "The Help", I have to come back later and say more.
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