The Butler is an extraordinary account of the life of Cecil Gaines. Mr. Gaines grew up on a cotton plantation in 1926 in Macon, Georgia, his parents were sharecroppers. Their life on the plantation was difficult at best. Cecil's mother was raped and his father was killed by the plantation owner. When Cecil was a teenager he left his mother and life on the plantations. The events that occurred had a devastating impact on his mother. His mother became mute as a result of these events. Cecil Gaines' adventures increase when he breaks into a pastry shop and is caught by surprise when he is hired at that very same hotel. When Cecil was on the plantation, the estate's caretaker trains Cecil as a servant. This training would become the driving force in Cecil Gaines' life. His instructions from the caretaker of the white estate were to be invisible in the room among the whites he served. Shortly after Cecil moved in, he would meet and marry Gloria and they would have two children. However, Cecil's life became very interesting when he was hired into the White House in !957. Cecil was hired during the Eisenhower administration, Cecil witnessed Eisenhower's reluctance to use troops to enforce school desegregation in the South. The president, however, would comply with the law by racially integrating Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. As time goes by Cecil spends many hours away from home. Gloria becomes an alcoholic, due to the lack of time and intimacy spent with Cecil. Like many couples, the Gains faced marital problems, in fact Gloria came close to having an affair with a neighbor. As time passed Cecil continued to work at the White House and in 1961 John F. Kennedy became president. Family, Dr. Hill developed a list of five strengths of the black family. Two of these strengths were the value of education and the desire to achieve. The Gains family has demonstrated these strengths in several ways. Cecil pursued gainful employment and advancement in his career. Louis, however, earned a master's degree in political science and ran for a seat in Congress. Louis was the first college graduate in the family. Dr. Hill observed that black families wanted their children to get an education. Most importantly, Louis and the others in the film were willing to die for their freedom. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “if something isn't worth dying for, it isn't worth living for.” This film was very helpful in its attempt to shed light on our past in America. The struggle continues today for the African American family.