In chapter 16 is one that is narrated by Aibileen. She is
quite involved in the telling of her story and wants to get more maids involved with
Miss Skeeter in the telling of their stories for the book. She knows that she will have
to be the "front person" because it is a bit too risky for Minny to do it, and Miss
Skeeter is a white woman whom the black maids who have immediate suspicions of.
Aibileen is well-respected within her community and so the job falls to
her.
This chapter takes place in the immediate aftermath of
the murder of Medgar Evers. This event has charged up the black community to protest
the unjust actions of the men who shot him in the back, and to the white community in
general. The chapter opens with Aibileen attending a church prayer meeting. At first
the congregation is praying for the deceased and his family, but the tone of the meeting
changes when some in the crowd start to ask "what we plan to do
about it?" The Deacon calmly says they will peacefully march in Jackson, and may join
Doctor King in his march in Washington in August, but that isn't good enough for some of
the crowd. It leaves everyone present with a lot to think about. Clearly, times are
changing for the blacks and whites of Jackson,
Mississippi.
After the prayer meeting, Aibileen approaches
Yule May who is one of the most educated of the black maids in the community. She
attended college and almost graduated. She has two children who will be attending
college in the fall. When Aibileen tells her about the writing project with Miss
Skeeter, Yule May is hesitant because she has a lot of financial concerns with her
children's education and can't afford to lose her job, but Aibileen knows that this
project will appeal to the intellectual/writer side of Yule May, who actually can't
resist the idea of being included. Aibileen has succeeded in getting another maid's
voice into the book!
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