President Obama loved Lee Daniels’ latest film, “The Butler.“ More importantly, he loved his “girl” Oprah Winfrey in “The Butler.”
During an interview with radio hosts Tom Joyner and Sybill Wilkes at the Oval Office, the president said of the media mogul, “My girl, she can act.”
Another favorite for the president was Cuba Gooding Jr. According to the New York Daily News: “His favorite parts of the movie were the jokes by Cuba Gooding Jr., who played a member of the White House serving staff, and the president added, star Forest Whitaker ‘was wonderful’.”
Obama admitted he also shed a few tears over the story of Cecil Gaines, the African-American man who served countless presidents but endured discrimination throughout his lifetime.
After Obama’s 2008 election, many believed we lived in post-racial society, however the president stressed that the impact of Jim Crow was very real and opportunities are still lost for many today.
“An entire generation of people … were talented and skilled, but because of Jim Crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go. It’s not enough just to have a black president,” he added, “The question is, does the ordinary person, day-to-day, can they succeed?”
