Racism In Kathryn Stockett's The Help

Throughout the 1960s, African-Americans suffered a grueling life solely because of the color of their skin. Whites not only forced Blacks to use separate bathrooms, water fountains, restaurants, etc., but also, harmed and even killed them with no consequence. Ingrained in almost everyone’s mind, racism became the societal norm. This racism - epitomized by The Help through Jackson, Mississippi - repeated itself throughout the south. Representing society at the time, Kathryn Stockett in The Help depicts African-American life in the 1960s as restricted, perilous, and hopeless. Whites prevented Blacks from freely accessing even the most basic necessities. Asserting that Blacks “carry different kinds of diseases than [Whites] do,” Hilly demands that Blacks use a different bathroom than Whites. Furthermore, Hilly states that separate bathrooms “will… protect our town,” further impeding Black integration (10). Not only does this constant restraint affect Blacks’ daily life (through minutiae such as bathroom use), but also it disturbs their professional life. With what little money they earned, Blacks could only buy necessities, as they needed to feed themselves and their families. In fear of losing her job and not finding another one, Minny must “tuck in whatever might fly out [her] …show more content…
Despite southern society’s abhorrent treatment of Blacks, many critics assert that the book still “downplays the violence and terror” of the time (Jones). White supremacists such as Hilly triumph over Blacks, making it nearly impossible for them to change the environment. As explained in The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, wrongly imprisoned people eventually act like criminals when imprisoned for an extended period of time. Constantly restricted and threatened, Black oppression compounds itself, as the environment passes down racism to the next generation while preventing Blacks from creating