the Help

i just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. have you heard of it, or read it? it's a book that takes you to Mississippi in the 60's, when civil rights were constantly in the headlines. the story is told from 3 womens' perspectives, two black women who work as maids in Jackson and one young white women who, as an aspiring writer, takes on the task of writing about life as a maid during that time. she sets out to secretly interview several black maids and hear their stories. i found the book enjoyable, not so much because i could relate to having a maid but because it opened my eyes to what life must have been like at that time. not only for the black women, who put up with so much, even as free women, but for the white women who were held to a social standard during that time in the way they related to their maids. can you imagine not being able to sit at the same table as a black woman? i can't even imagine having someone serve me and raise my children, even if i am paying them. 50 short years ago, blogging about this topic would be scandalous (not to mention, impossible, without computers, ha!)! i see how far we have come as a country since that time, yet how far we still have to go in our racial barriers. i think it's important to note, too, that not all the maids were treated poorly; there were many that were taken very good care of by their 'employers'. even so, the racial barriers existed, the lines were there. i think a good relationship with any employee should be the standard, certainly not the exception. and not a justification for any prejudices or attitudes that reflect superiority over any race.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28