Unit 13 Intersectionality

The theory of intersectionality reminds a lot of the movie the Butler starring Forest Whitaker as an African American butler in the White House. He worked with many American Presidents during the civil rights movement. As a young man he lived on a plantation with his family in the South where she witnessed his father being killed by the plantation owner who was raping his mother and his mother becoming mute. He eventually leaves the plantation and gets training from a master server eventually landing a job at the White House. While there he was witness to many presidential decisions regarding race in America, such as the first integrated school and the Voting Rights Act.

It was interesting watching this film and the perspective of a black man working for a white man who was in such a position of power. Eventually color was blind in the White House and even the president's would go to him for advice. This movie was a perfect example of what living during the civil rights movement was like, only instead of the typical of from the view of an activist or slave, it was from a black man who held a prestigious position. Despite his position in the White House he was still dealing with being black in a time where being black was not acceptable. I most enjoyed watching his internal struggle between respecting the decisions of the President's and the freedom of his people.