Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life Of Bees

Segregation has been a huge issue in our society since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The battle between African Americans trying to become equal made our country split completely in half. Different rules and regulations were made for blacks to follow during school, work, and in other public places. The states further down South were very segregated and it also made it much harder for blacks to gain freedom. Many people viewed this time period through the phrase ‘love transcends race’. This means, that love overpowers race and prejudice allowing all to be equal without any say in the color of a person’s skin. By putting aside the color of a person’s skin, it allowed everyone to become equal and to this day, segregation is not a revolving issue. In Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees, the main character Lily shows us how it is important to have the right amount of courage even through times of

Everyone, at the time, was basically afraid to speak up for freedom. It took a lot of effort to stand up for blacks in order to grant them the freedom they deserved. Finally, president Lyndon Johnson enacted the civil rights act, “‘Today, July second, 1964,’ he said, ‘the president of the United States signed the Civil Rights Act into law in the East Room of the White House’” (Monk 20). The author decided to start the book right off with the Civil Rights Act being enacted to show a build up in courage. During this time, it was very important to have courage and be able to stick up for yourself. The president at the time knew that many people would be angry when the Civil Rights Act was issued and they could begin to protest or they may not follow the rules. Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees, incorporated courage because she felt that it was important to show how one problem in society can give a person the courage to do