The Butler

Cecil Gaines is born on a cotton plantation in Macon, Georgia, during the Jim Crow era. His mother Hattie is raped by the white landowner Thomas Westfall, and Cecil's father Earl is killed when he confronts him. Cecil is taken in by Annabeth Westfall, the estate matron, who trains him to be a house servant.

Desperately hungry, Cecil leaves the plantation in 1937 and breaks into a hotel pastry shop. The elderly Maynard takes pity on him and hires him, teaching him the basics of refined serving and interpersonal skills. Maynard later recommends Cecil for a position at a Washington, D.C., hotel.

While rising through the hotel ranks, Cecil meets Gloria, they marry, and together they have two sons, Louis and Charlie. Their family life centers on Cecil's growing career in hospitality in Washington, D.C.

In 1957, Cecil is hired as White House maître d'hôtel. He witnesses Eisenhower's cautious approach to enforcing desegregation and then his resolve to uphold the law by supporting school desegregation, such as at Little Rock Central High.

Louis Gaines leaves home to attend Fisk University in Nashville and becomes involved with the SCLC under James Lawson. He participates in nonviolent sit-ins at segregated venues, and is arrested during these protests. Cecil worries about the South's volatility but supports his son's activism.

After Kennedy's inauguration, Louis and fellow activists take a freedom ride to Birmingham, Alabama, where they are attacked by Ku Klux Klan members. The assault underscores the dangers of continuing segregation and mobilizes further civil rights action.

Louis participates in the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, where dogs and water cannons are used against peaceful marchers. The brutal response helps galvanize public opinion and enhances momentum toward civil rights legislation under President Kennedy.

Following Kennedy's assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson pushes through civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Jackie Kennedy presents Cecil with one of Kennedy's neckties as a symbolic memento of the era.

Louis takes part in the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement, whose bravery helps spur federal action on voting rights under Johnson. Johnson also gives Cecil a tie bar as a personal nod to the administration's progress.

By the late 1960s, Louis openly joins the Black Panthers, prompting Cecil to reconcile with his son's activism and several confrontations within the family. Cecil becomes increasingly aware of President Nixon's plans to suppress the Panthers and disrupt the movement.

Charlie informs his family he plans to go to Vietnam, and he enlists. He is killed in the war and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Cecil relentlessly fights for equal pay and career advancement for Black staff at the White House. With Ronald Reagan's support, he gains recognition and is invited to a state dinner, but ultimately resigns when Reagan refuses to support sanctions against apartheid in South Africa.

Gloria urges Cecil to mend his relationship with Louis. The two later join a protest against apartheid in South Africa and are arrested, demonstrating renewed family solidarity across generations.

In 2008, Gloria dies shortly before Barack Obama is elected as the nation's first Black president. Cecil reflects on the long arc of his family’s struggle for equality as the country prepares for a historical election.

Two months, two weeks and one day after Obama's historic election, Cecil prepares to meet the president. The chief usher tells him the president is ready, and Cecil walks toward the Oval Office, certain in the path he has traveled.