Racial discrimination reached its peak of popularity in the mass media in the 1960s with the start of the civil rights movement. The Southern United States was on the front lines of the battle for equal rights not only for black men, but also for black women. Unification through the terror of racism brought hope and a fighting chance to the cause. Kathryn Stockett uses the characterization of Minny Jackson through the points of view of herself and other characters in her novel, The Help, to develop the contrasting ideas of African American women's ideology, African womanism. African womanism is a branch of womanism that focuses more on racial discrimination rather than equality for women in a man's world. It was developed by Clenora Hudson-Weems in the 1980s to counter some ideas of feminism. The connection between men and women of African descent share a closer bond that makes feminism less important to Black women (Aldridge and Young 205-17). African feminism looks more at a future for all African Americans rather than a future for women. The bond between African descendants, however, may not be strong enough when it comes to spousal abuse. Miss Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan's point of view paints Minny as a strong, sensitive maid with a distrustful state of mind towards white women and a strong bond with African Americans. tradition. As Miss Skeeter interviews Minny for her book, Minny expresses her "fury at white people" and her love of food (Stockett 194). Minny's hatred of white people is tied to that of African feminism, but her love of food is the only love she truly has because of her family life. Cuisine is normally passed down from generation to generation as a kind of tradition....... middle of paper... not only among workers and employers, but also issues between black and white communities. In the eyes of her friends, she is a strong woman who tends to have a somewhat short temper, but her true fears rise to the surface over time. The close-knit group of maids shows the true sense of unity that African feminism embodies in the black community. Kathryn Stockett is able to successfully embody an African American woman through her characterization and the ideology of African feminism in The Help.Works CitedStockett, Kathryn. The help. New York: Amy Einhorn, 2009. Print.Aldridge, Delores P., Carlene Young. “African Womanism: An Overview.” Out of the Revolution: The Development of African Studies. Lexington Books, 2000: 205-217. The University of Missouri-Columbia. Network. April 11 2014.