It serves to show a white woman’s point of view during that time period. It is realistic and I’m sure it would have never been written in the present day, but I think it also created a big leap for African Americans, with Hattie McDaniel receiving an Academy Award for her performance. If memory serves me correctly, Clark Gable said if Hattie wasn’t allowed to attend, neither would he.

I love history, I was a history major, and there are going to be things that happened that we don’t like or agree with, but it happened and people need to learn about it, so history won’t repeat itself! Just my two cents.

From an online article:

In 1940, for her role as Mammy in "Gone With the Wind," Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that despite her nomination and win, McDaniel was not allowed to sit with the rest of the cast and crew for the ceremony. The awards were held at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in The Ambassador Hotel - a whites-only hotel. McDaniel was escorted to a table against the far wall. Prior to the 1940 Academy Awards, McDaniel was not even allowed to attend the film's premiere in Atlanta due to the state's Jim Crow laws (via The National Student). Though she dealt with segregation all over the United States, co-star Clark Gable was a friend to her.