-WorldandFilm.com, Yes. But theres one black man who spent nearly four times that34 yearsin the White House, watching as eight presidents filed in and out and witnessing the country change from within the walls that were changing it. ^ a b Haygood, Wil The sanctions would have also impacted the least affluent in the country first, who were mainly the blacks there. The film follows Cecil Gaines, modeled after Allen, as he witnesses the changes of each administration while his son, Louis Gaines, fights for equality. You've taken a great story about a real person and real events and twisted it into a bunch of lies," Reagan wrote. At the time, America was entangled in the Cold War with the Soviet Union and their communist allies. They were not allowed to vote, which brought them back to the same place they were before. The invented older son, Louis, serves as the main source of conflict in the narrative of Cecils life, in an attempt to highlight the clash between the older and younger black generation. Instead, actor Orlando Eric Street portrays President Barack Obama. But the names have been changed: Allen and his wife, Helene, are called Cecil and Gloria Gaines. Aug 16, 2013. Looking for info on Louis Gaines & descendents, died in Mobile, AL. During an interview with Gayle King for the Oprah Winfrey Network, director Lee Daniels said, "It was more powerful to not have Obama in it but we did go back and forth." He went on to admit that they didn't include him because, "We couldn't get him!" Allen was the first White House butler ever to be invited as a guest to a state dinner. Alex Haley demonstrates this idea of racial equality in The Autobiography of Malcolm X., The Kennedy Assassination: Just or Unjust? Eugene and Helene Allen did not have only one son, Charles. Otherwise I believe the african american suffrage endured much more hatred and took much longer for assimilation due to ethnic stratification and black, The radicals finally got what they long proceeded for. The presidents that had Cecil as their butler would ask him what would he think would be best for him and the others that were the same like Cecil. University Louis joins a student program led by Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCLC activist James Lawson, which leads to a nonviolent sit-in at a segregated diner it showed in the picture 19 and Allen was particularly affected by the murder of President Kennedy in 1963. When Westfall returns, Cecils father shows his anger, and Westfall shoots him dead in front of Cecil and the other plantation workers. Nothing like this had come to the Supreme Court before so it was a new experience. Louis the Son Louis Gaines is the son of Cecil and Gloria Gaines and he deals with the question of how he will define his life. Mr. Cecil Gaines Obituary. on a real person, Forest emphasizes that The Butler, with its Forrest Gump-like ambition to touch on every significant moment and movement in the countrys 20th century racial history, begins by showing Cecil Gaines on a Georgia plantation picking cotton with his father (David Banner). Gaines, who grew up on a cotton plantation in Macon, GA, first entered the White House in 1957 as President Eisenhower's wardrobe organizer. Allen was married to his wife, Helene, for 65 years. Yes. But it's not just about him. During the time period of 1954-1968 African Americans tried to fight for racial equality. ", But what particularly rankled Reagan was the movie's insinuation that his father wanted to veto sanctions on apartheid South Africa when, in actuality, he said "it had to do with the geopolitics of the Cold War. ", "Portraying Ronald Reagan as a racist because he was in favor of lifting economic sanctions against South Africa is simplistic and dishonest," he added. Sadly, Helene did not witness the election. "I wasn't even looking for a job," Allen admits (The Washington Post). Allen was particularly affected by the murder of President Kennedy in 1963. * Eugene Allen was born in 1919, and, like Cecil, he grew up on a plantation (in Virginia, not Georgia). Allen came to public attention when a 2008 article about him and his wife, by journalist Wil Haygood, entitled "A Butler Well Served by This Election", was published in The Washington Post shortly after the 2008 presidential election. Louis Gaines marched in front of the African embassy for those in South Africa suffering during the Apartheid. The Butler true story reveals that Eugene Allen was working in the White House kitchen on the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. According to Daniels foreword in The Butler: A Witness to History, a book by Haygood published to accompany the film, the movie is set against historical events, but the title character and his family are fictionalized. The skeleton of Allens story is there: the childhood on a plantation in the early 1920s, the interactions with several presidents. Gaines served in World War II from March 1943 to December 1945 with the 27th . Cecil Gaines in his later years, waiting for Ronald Reagan to finish his lunch so he could step in and wipe spittle from the president's chin. Also know, what presidents did Cecil Gaines serve? Oprah Winfrey who portray husband and wife The film opens with young Cecil in Macon, Georgia, in the 1920s, working in a cotton field alongside his father. There is a significant Colombian diaspora in Mexico. Louis, the older son in The Butler and a Freedom Rider and early member of the Black Panther Party, is the lens through which much of the film's depiction of the civil rights movement is. I attribute this affirmative action to be a product of both the NAACP and NOW recognition. (They're played by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.) Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. Just imagine, Gloria says. Not much. Even though many leaders made many advances across America, they still had a long way to come before reaching the ultimate goal. We wanted him to do it but he was running for office so I think he had better thingsmore important things [to do]." Some people who are Latino/Latina are also Hispanic and some Hispanics are also Latino/Latina but some people are only one or the other. Judging from Haygoods interview, it seems that Allen, like Cecil, was grateful to have his job at the White House, and wary of involving himself in the politics of the timeeven in his old age, he is not quoted saying anything disparaging about the presidents he worked under. He then acts in a manner that undermines his belief in the authenticity of his life's work. He returned home and became an investigator with the State Department (The Washington Post). Cecil and Louis, the warring father and son played by Whitaker and Oyelowo . While the Black Panther Party ingrained the deep-rooted consciousness of black self-worth and utilized the black nationalist philosophy constructed by Marcus Garvey to address economic austerity and police brutality. He is a butler who has worked in the White House for over three decades. According to the 2010 census, there were 13,922 Colombian citizens residing in Mexico, making them the largest South American immigrant community in Mexico. It is nevetherless estimated that 37% of the Colombian population can be categorized as white, forming the second largest racial group after mestizos (at 49 percent). Its an amazing story. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! In the Washington Post article, Eugene and Helene talk about praying for Obama to win the White House. When Wil came across former White House butler Eugene Allen, he knew that he had found the perfect story to tell. The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a black man who rose to become White House butler and served eight presidents, witnessing some of the most tumultuous events in 20th-century America,. . Le dije a Louis mi hijo que el Presidente Eisenhower iba a mejorar nuestra situacin. Was the real Cecil Gaines born on a plantation like in The Butler movie? I hope she grow out of it. In reality, Allens wife, Helene, did not have a problem with alcohol nor did she have an affair. The Butler tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a black man who rose to become White House butler and served eight presidents, witnessing some of the most tumultuous events in 20th-century America, including the Civil Rights movement. King then asks Louis Gaines (David Oyelowo), a young man sitting next to him, what his father does for a living. Afro-Colombians refers to Colombian citizens of African descent; this article is about the influence they have had on Colombian culture. Guess which butler feels the pain of America's racial injustices so deeply that he quits his White House job and joins his son in a protest movement? Materials Cotton, wool, silk lapels Credit Courtesy of Western Costume Company Notes In 1954, African Americans gained an understanding on how people should be treated and they wanted changes in their rights and how society treated them publicly. They acted like they were some high and mighty people and that Africans Americans were just the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. . When he retired after 34 years, President Reagan wrote him a tender note and Nancy Reagan tightly hugged him. Author. Latin refers to those from countries whose languages derived from Latin. The Nation of Islam led by Malcolm X and The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee spearheaded by Stokely Carmichael called for upholding a distinctive black identity divorced from mainstream white society. He was all alone. Who was Louis Gaines? At least one key character, Cecil's son Louis (David Oyelowo), is entirely made up. I couldve helped him, opened up his heart a bit, but hes just too much of a egotistical, self-promoting, cocky windbag, pardon me for saying so. Not many African Americans can do what Cecil does, which was not getting beaten up even if he was a different color, and white people treated him equal because he was a good nigger butler. While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, Hispanic is a narrower term that only refers to persons of Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry, while Latino is more frequently used to refer generally to anyone of Latin American origin or ancestry, including Brazilians. But the names have been changed: Allen and his wife, Helene, are called Cecil and Gloria Gaines. He saw them as individual Americans. Then he turned to me, started calling me all sorts of names, saying I didnt defend him with the coloreds, that I should go back to my shithole country. I told him I was born right here, that Im one-hundred percent American. Who was Louis Gaines? We may earn a commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase through links. Cecil eventually goes out on his own and becomes a highly efficient and secretive hotel valet in the 1950s. The political environment of . [10] Allen's life was the inspiration for the 2013 film The Butler. Tomie Louis Gaines was born on November 3, 1922 to Sally Gaines Glenn and Fred Glenn in Hartwell, Georgia. In 1957, the president was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Grand View Funeral Home 11116 US-61, Hannibal, MO 63401. The latter penned a scathing editorial for conservative website Newsmax titled "The Butler from Another Planet," in which he blasted the historical drama's suggestion that his father was racist. Released in 2013, the film traces the history of civil rights from the 1950s to the 1980s through the eyes of Cecil Gaines, a White House butler based on the real-life experience of Eugene Allen, who served eight presidents over 34 years. Being a black butler in those times was extremely . When Wil Haygood interviewed Eugene and his wife Helene for The Washington Post article, Helene admitted she was nervous about trying to make small talk with world leaders at the state dinner, adding, "Had champagne that night," which caused her husband to grin. She a ugly little old girl, too. References ^ a b Eugene Charles Allen - Scottsville Museum Visited 2018-05-01. I wasnt that shocked, to be honest, said the 94-year-old Gaines, who was most recently employed as a private quarters assistant to the First Family. It's about several other people I spoke to that worked at the White House as well so that the film would create this universal truth for many people of what that experience was like.". Civil rights include freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion. Latino refers to geography. After a two-hour tour through the ugliest moments of the countrys history, The Butler concludes with one of those lump-in-the-throat rousing moments that wins applause at the end of screenings. At least one key character, Cecil's son Louis (David Oyelowo), is entirely made up. "Despite what Hollywood's liberal hacks believe, my father didn't see people in colors. The movie begins with Cecil Gaines working on a plantation in 1926 with his father and mother. Just for the movie. Todd graduated from Pinecrest High School and continued his studies at North Ca In the film, Cecil is portrayed by Forest Whitaker. Cecil ends up attending the protest, after deciding to retire from being a butler. John Cusack as Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. Satirist. He said, 'I've got to go back to work.' portraying a fictionalized character based Yes. (2023), Are Catalpa Trees Poisonous to Dogs? But the names have been changed: Allen and his wife, Helene, are called Cecil and Gloria Gaines. The Butler director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Danny Strong injected these events into the movie in order to create the fear that builds subservience into Cecil's DNA. Columbia Pictures bought the film rights to Allen's life story, and he was invited to Obama's inauguration, where he commented, "That's the manWhew, I'm telling you, it's something to see. Cecil grown up in a cotton plantation with his father and mother. Allens son survived the war, while his fictional counterpart does not. So as time went by, Cecil became the butler for the president. The Newton Record; 04 Aug 1965, Wed; Page 8 FIRST GAINES REUNION HELD AT DECATUR'S ARMORY JULY 25 The first reunion of the Tom, Frank and Jim Gaines and Mattie Gaines Dunagin families was held at the National Guard Armory in Decatur, Sunday, July 25. "I wasn't that shocked, to be honest," said the 94-year-old Gaines, who was most recently employed as a private quarters assistant to the First Family. Private Tomie Louis Gaines, 93, one of the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the black Army men who helped settle the West on horseback and fought in two world wars, was laid to rest Friday at M.J.. Born to Debra Gaines on January 9, 1975 and raised with his older brother Robert "Earl" Gaines. Other moments from the film appear to be true: Allen witnessed presidents mulling over important historical decisions, including Eisenhowers fight with Arkansas governor Orval Faubus regarding the desegregation of Little Rock. Which is why he can speak with authority on the subject. His death was unjustified because he fought for equal rights, was a advocate for black people, and he did great things for his country. He worked for the family as a house boy doing chores such as washing dishes. -The Butler Featurette, Writer Wil Haygood had a hunch that Barack Obama would win the 2008 U.S. presidential election. In the movie, the White House calls Gaines after a white senior staffer witnesses Cecil in action at the D.C. hotela point Cecil, in voiceover, emphasizes proudly. -The Washington Post, Yes. Louis (Hijo de Cecil Gaines y Gloria) Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013) and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012) might appear to tackle vastly different themes on the . "And so was Mrs. And he doesnt seem to care at all about its people, what with so many getting sick and dying from the Covid. Private Tomie Louis Gaines, 93, one of the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the black Army men who helped settle the West on horseback and fought in two world wars, was laid to rest Friday at M . [1] He worked as a waiter for many years, in "whites-only resorts and country clubs", including The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, and a club in Washington.[4]. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. [ 9][ 10] Foi o ltimo filme produzido por Laura Ziskin, [ 11][ 12] que morreu em 2011. 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