Local Debate: Is “The Help” Racist?

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Monday, September 05, 2011

GoLocalProv Features Team

thehelp

Octavia Spencer & Viola Davis as maids in The Help

The release of the movie, The Help, based on Kathryn Stockett's bestselling novel, has provoked heated social media discussions. Some have centered on whether or not Black women in 2011 should be playing maids. Others have suggested that the audience for which this work was written is white people, to inform them about segregation in the South in the ‘60’s. Any way you look at it, the film has aroused conversation – about race, history, women and movies.

Join the local, heated discussion

On Thursday, September 8, from 4:30 to 6:30pm, the discussion will continue. Readers of the book (book clubs, included) and viewers of the movie are invited to Roots Cultural Center, 276 Westminster Street, for a lively discussion led by two dynamic African-American women: Mary Fisher and Jessica Brown.

Fisher, Chief Learning Officer of Training Central, Inc. a soft skills business management company, has more than 18 years of motivational speaking and training, with an emphasis in leadership, work place ethics, and diversity. Some of the trainings she has facilitated include: LEAD Mentoring Program of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, RI chapter; Asian American Civic Association, Boston, MA; Victory Programs, Boston, MA.

Brown is an experienced Furniture Maker with a Master's in Industrial Design from RISD, focusing on sustainable products and systems. She was the emcee at the first Better World By Design Conference, a three-day conference that connects students, professionals, and individuals from a variety of disciplines in order to build a global community of socially conscious and passionate innovators. She is extremely personable, witty, quick spoken and has great interest in this work.

Come ready to talk about how you felt after reading the book or seeing the movie, where are we today, and why is the race issue such a firestorm.

The mission of the Root’s Cultural Center is to create a vibrant sense of place in the capital city of Providence where art, culture, and entertainment, of the finest quality, will serve as the basis to bring diverse people together, provoke thought, inspire hope, create broad community understanding in support of the artistic programming of the Providence Inner City Arts, Inc.