Its the first of many historic moments in the civil rights movement that Cecil would witness as a silent servant in the Oval Office. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Cecil Gaines to pay them a last tribute. In 1954, the civil rights have started, and by 1968, it had ended. Gloria Gaines, thebutlerswife, hasan affair with a neighbor (Terrence Howard) and struggles with alcoholism. The film also gives the butler a second son who is a civil rights activist, and who, in real life, did not exist. Cecil Gaines - Middle Adulthood Cecil Gaines is the Allens life was the inspiration for the 2013 film The Butler. Cecil's son, Louis, becomes part of the civil rights movement against his father's wishes. When he spoke to Haygood about his childhood, There was nary a hint of bitterness in his voice about his upbringing. Allen left the plantation in hopes of finding better work, as Cecil doesbut unlike his fictional counterpart, he never broke into a hotel restaurant to steal food. A rep for the Weinstein Company, which released The Butler, was unavailable for comment. [7] Reagan invited Allen and his wife Helene to a state dinner in honor of Helmut Kohl at the White House. The Civil Rights Movement was to give future Generations the opportunity to have their civil rights. Cecil's youngest son, Charlie Gaines, is struggling to find his identity and decides to join the military and fight for his country. (Answered 2023). Eugene and Helene only had one son, Charles. age during segregation and living to see a 0:56. 25 Feb/23. On Wednesday, April 7, 2021, Cecil Lamont Gaines aka Bunz, 46 years old, made his transition home. "I thought me and the president, we were . Over the years Allen rose in his position, becoming the butler to the president. Cyclist. But it's not just about him. Being a black butler in those times was extremely . John Cusack as Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States. And just to be around the president and the first lady, every day, it's different from other people. Like in the movie, Jacqueline Kennedy did give one of JFK's ties to Eugene. Here, he learns how to serve and be a proper house slave. Who was Louis Gaines? Latino refers to geography. Also know, what presidents did Cecil Gaines serve? The Lyndon Johnson toilet scene: COULD BE TRUE. The minority-minority relationship between the two organizations raised enough attention that it gained affirmative action. "I believe I'm the only butler to get invited to a state dinner." But even today, where skin color should make no difference, black people still experience segregation., Stop sweet-talking him (Bagwell n.pag.). [3], Allen was born in Buckingham County, Virginia and raised on Shirland Farm near Scottsville. Louis Gaines marched in front of the African embassy for those in South Africa suffering during the Apartheid. assistant: Mr. Cusack Kim Bailey . This includes Louis joining the Freedom Riders and the Black Panthers, and the rift that develops between Cecil and his son as a result. "Guess which one had a happy, quiet life and was married to the same woman for 65 years? Alex Haley demonstrates this idea of racial equality in The Autobiography of Malcolm X., The Kennedy Assassination: Just or Unjust? Gaines was born on April 9, 1943 to Cecil Reginald Montgomery and Margaret Gaines Montgomery in Anniston, Alabama. But Cecil persevered and worked his way up, never giving in to anger. Cecil Gaines faced what seemed like insurmountable pain and anguish to advance from the son of a sharecropping slave to a professional black domestic. (They're played by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.) [6] He retired in 1986, after he worked for Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, a total of eight presidents. Allen was the first White House butler ever to be invited as a guest to a state dinner. He began working there in 1952, during the Truman administration, but didnt get promoted to butler until several years later. His death was unjustified because he fought for equal rights, was a advocate for black people, and he did great things for his country. Civil rights are the freedoms and rights that a person may have as a member of a community, state, or nation. In 1954, the civil rights have started, and by 1968, it had ended. And, though he's grateful for his opportunities, his older son, Louis (David Oyelowo), is not so content. He was, after all, the man who stacked the White House champagne. He started in the White House in 1952 as a "pantry man", a job which involved basic tasks such as dish washing, stocking and cleaning silverware. Louis, whos ashamed that his father is content with serving white people, is himself present for several important historical moments, including the attack and burning of a Freedom Riders bus in 1961; hes also imprisoned in the same jail as Martin Luther King, Jr. after a protest. Soon the fourteenth amendment came in place, which let the African Americans progress in society (263). Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. I attribute this affirmative action to be a product of both the NAACP and NOW recognition. Who was Louis Gaines? A figure in the tiniest of print. In the movie, Cecil asks for equal pay among the black and white service staff, who each perform the same level of duties. 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,. . He was correct. Allen finally attained the most prestigious rank of butlers serving in the White House, Matre d'htel, in 1981, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. On October 17, 2020 he married his lovely beautiful queen . Now, however, Allens story is playing out on the big screen in an Oscar-baiting film with a sprawling cast including Robin Williams, Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Liev Schrieber, Oprah Winfrey, and, in the role inspired by Allen, Forest Whitaker. job he works nearly 34 years to serve the presidents in the White House. Allen met with Alonzo Fields, a maitre d', who instantly liked him. He is a butler who has worked in the White House for over three decades. The plantation matriarch (Vanessa Redgrave) then decides that Cecil should leave the fields to become a house nigger and learn to serve her family. In short, Black Nationalism calls on African Americans to take ownership of their lives and communities through collective social action., When the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s it was the beginning of a new future for African Americans. Do I Have to Stop Minoxidil Before Hair Transplant? when it came to portraying the White House No. based on real-life White House butler (They're played by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.) 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. Anne Marie Fox 2013 The Weinstein Company. That was the first time in my life I had ever seen my father cry. He is a butler who has worked in the White House for over three decades. Specifically, to Latin America, to people from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic), South America (Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, etc.) 150 Sawnee Dr. Cumming, GA CECIL MONTGOMERY OBITUARY Cecil Gaines Montgomery Cecil Gaines Montgomery, 78, of Cumming, went home to be with the Lord on October 15, 2021. He saw them as individual Americans. The couple had one son, Charles Allen. Supporters of Ronald Reagan aren't happy with the way Lee Daniels' The Butler portrays the 40th president, but none more so than his son, Michael Reagan. This differs from the movie, which finds Eugene Allen's onscreen counterpart, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), being contacted by the White House and offered the job after a senior White House staffer witnesses Cecil in action at a D.C. hotel. Over the years Allen rose in his position, becoming the butler to the president. "Despite what Hollywood's liberal hacks believe, my father didn't see people in colors. Im glad hes finished.. . Its not surprising that some broad creative license was taken with Allens life. In The Butler movie, Cecil (Forest Whitaker) watches his fellow butlers serve him at the state dinner and realizes he has in fact been wearing a mask over the years to cover up the subservient nature of his job. Much of the film, though, has been fictionalized, including his name (which was changed to Cecil Gaines) and childhood background. Cecil Gaines is the protagonist of The Butler. He is a widower and father of two sons, Louis and Charlie. Gaines served in the early twentieth century with the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the nineteenth century regiments commissioned immediately after the Civil War. Allen's life was the inspiration for the 2013 film The Butler. (Theyre played by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.) The following breakdown is based on Haygoods profile and the accompanying book. But it's not just about him. During the time period of 1954-1968 African Americans tried to fight for racial equality. When he retired after 34 years, President Reagan wrote him a tender note and Nancy Reagan tightly hugged him. But the names have been changed: Allen and his wife, Helene, are called Cecil and Gloria Gaines. Practically all descendants of the Gaines family who migrated from. he said. He was all alone. He began as a pantry worker in 1952, and was promoted to butler years later. The movie is Its not clear whether Allen actually met President Obama, but he did attend his swearing-in ceremony, with a VIP invitation, no less. 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? 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. Mr. Cecil Gaines Obituary. Cecil and Louis, the warring father and son played by Whitaker and Oyelowo . Pensamiento de Cecil Gaines: "Cuando el Presidente Eisenhower envi la Guardia Nacional a Little Rock, Arkansas fue la primera vez que observ que un blanco se arriesgara para defender a los negros. 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. [8] He and his wife had intended to vote for Barack Obama in 2008, but she died the day before the election, on November 3. AUGUSTA, Ga. - Entered into rest Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at University Hospital, Mr. Todd Cecil Gaines, Sr. of Parks Pl. The father and son relationship at the heart of Lee Daniels' The Butler nearly eclipses the story proper, which concerns African-American Cecil Gaines, a longtime White House butler who served during eight administrations over 34 years. "[4], Allen and other workers who served presidents were featured in a 32-minute documentary, Workers at the White House, directed by Marjorie Hunt and released on a 2009 DVD, White House Workers: Traditions and Memories by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.[10]. Sadly, Helene did not witness the election. He then joins his son, who has become a When in the 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 20. Cecil Gaines is the main character of the movie whose father tragically died at the hands of his employer in the cotton fields of the state of Georgia. Haygoods article only mentions that Eugene left the White House in 1986 and received a sweet note from the president and a tight hug from First Lady Nancy. 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.. I thought me and the president, we were on good terms, but he turned out to be a real bastard from hell, pardon me for saying so., After the election, according to Gaines, the president he was cursing and swearing and kicking the furniture in the Oval Office, looking for someone to blame for his defeat. ", "I feel great about Forest portraying my father," says Charles Allen. And shed get supper going afterwardOn Monday Helene had a doctors appointment. -The Butler: A Witness to History. The movie is generally considered to be accurate, though some events have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes. Eighty-nine-year-old Eugene Allen, who, like Obama, is African American, served as butler at the White House under eight different presidents: I was there for 34 years, he says proudly, before reeling off the names of each President he worked for: I served Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Eugene Allen (July 14, 1919 March 31, 2010) was an American waiter and butler who worked for the US government at the White House for 34 years until he retired as the head butler in 1986. 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. Heres your guide. asked Reagan. Butlers in the White House make an average of $50,000 per year. on a real person, Forest emphasizes that Thomas Gaines 2/26/12. He was predeceased by : his parents, George Gaines and Hazel Gaines (Chase); and his wife Barbara Jones. In the The Butler movie, we see Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) standing before Jackie Kennedy (Minka Kelly), who is still wearing the blood-stained pink Chanel suit that she was wearing when her husband was shot. Reagan's hesitation to issue sanctions arose in part because he did not want to disrupt America's anti-communist alliance with the country, not because he thought apartheid in South Africa was okay. It placed Allen's life in the context of changing race relations and the personalities of the presidents he'd served. The true story behind Eugene Allen verifies that he was born on a plantation in Virginia (not Georgia). "White House butler Eugene Allen's humility recalled at funeral", Washington Post, April 9, 2010. 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