Set in the fall of 1962 in the town of Jackson, Mississippi, The Help is a story of how Skeeter Phelan, a young aspiring journalist, works to tell the story of black women who spend their lives taking care of prominent Southern family households.
Serving as a powerful backdrop, the Civil Rights Movement creates a changing wind in the town, as well as the rest of the country, while empowering the maids of Jackson to speak out. The women are not initially willing to share their stories should it put their lives in danger, but once the maid of one of Skeeter’s close friends, Aibileen, stands up to the challenge and the violence of the social tension hits their home town, other maids follow.
As Skeeter interviews the maids in her hometown, she forges strong bonds with the brave women who collaborate with her, while breaking the friendships she held with the women who employ them. Before long, the entire town is caught up in the changing times.
