Equality does not exist. When black people were granted the right to citizenship in the United States, they had no basic rights. In the 1960s, revolutions began with the aim of obtaining the same rights as everyone else. Lily, the protagonist of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, lives her teenage life during this time with her abusive father T. Ray and her mother figure Rosaleen. While Rosaleen hopes to have the same rights as white people, Lily hopes to gain the freedom that adulthood offers. While both acted to achieve their goals, black Americans in the 1960s also acted in hopes of one day enjoying the rights denied to them. These events are linked to each other by the oppression of groups of people who seek equal status with others. Kidd parallels Lily and Rosaleen's protests with protests seen during the civil rights movement in order to emphasize society's desire for equality. Kidd emphasizes humanity's desire for freedom by mirroring the events in Lily and Rosaleen's lives with the events taking place throughout the civil rights movement. African Americans lived a life of oppression in the 1960s. When this segregation prevented black people from living freely, they began to rebel against their oppressors. For example, Lily and Rosaleen are on a trip to register Rosaleen to vote, when they encounter racists. After racists tormented her because of her race, "Rosaleen raised her pitcher of snuff...and calmly poured it onto the tops of the men's shoes, moving her hand in little curls as if writing her name" (Kid 32). Like Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on the bus sparked public outcry, Rosaleen disrupts the balance between blacks and whites...... middle of paper ...... in ways to maintain strong family relationships. However, once T. Ray began destroying her mother's reputation, Lily could no longer handle the conflict. This situation gave him the confidence to challenge his father. Furthermore, Lily had already plotted to escape her father. Because she came up with a plan so quickly, readers can assume that Lily had been thinking about an escape plan. After all, Lily only wants her freedom, just like Rosaleen wanted her rights and how African Americans in the United States wanted their rights. People stopped them all from having something they wanted, and they all had trouble getting it. Works CitedBass, S. Jonathan. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Encyclopedia of Alabama. November 9, 2007. The web. January 30, 2010. .Kidd, Sue Monk. The secret life of bees. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.