re: #64 darthstar

Good morning…

About the pics at the top of this thread: I watched “The Butler” last night. Pretty good movie. Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey are both good in their roles. My only criticism of the film is that it had a Forrest Gump quality to it with regard to one of Whitaker’s on screen sons, who manages to be at the center of every major Civil Rights incident, riding the Freedom Bus, going to Jail with MLK, joining the Black Panthers, etc. Then I remembered the opening credits, where it read, “Based on THE true story.” (vs Based on a true story.) So while the butler did serve eight presidents, the story wasn’t about him, so much as civil rights during his employment.

Some of the Butler’s interactions with Presidents are also amalgamated from other staff (although Cecil & his wife being official guests at a state dinner during the Reagan admin is a true thing).

For example, LBJ once asked one of his personal staff to drive his dogs to Texas (apparently the beagles didn’t like flying). The guy explained how difficult it was for a black man to find gas and hotels in the south, what could happen if he stopped to walk the dogs or let them shit by the side of the road, etc. This was news to Johnson, and had a major effect on how he thought about the Civil Rights Act and what he wanted included.