Warriors Dont Cry
Growing up as a teenager, Melba Pattillo Beals had to fight one of the most courageous wars in history. No, not a war that took place in the trenches of a battlefield, but a war that took place in the halls of an American high school—a war against color. Melba was one of nine black students who was involved in one of the most important civil rights movements in American history. These nine black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were the first to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 4, 1957. This was a major turning point for blacks all across the United States and opened the way for other blacks to begin attending white schools. Melba managed to survive her days at Central High School and wrote about her extraordinary “battles” and experiences in her autobiography, Warriors Don’t Cry.Melba began her story with her childhood in Little Rock, Arkansas. She lived with her mother, grandma, and brother in a strict and religious household. Her family had come to accept the fact that they would always be mistreated because of their color. In the South this mistreatment of blacks was seen as perfectly normal, but Melba saw things a little differently. As
This was a war that had to be fought for civil rights, and Beal’s book shows the tremendous struggle and suffering she and the eight other students went through. One such event took place when a white student and a group of his friends came charging across a field yelling at Melba, threatening to hang her. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Once she said that she wanted to die because the battle was just too hard. When she was really discouraged, she found courage in her faith in God and in the support from her family members. They had survived an entire year in the hostile environment of the school. Warriors Don’t Cry is an inspiring account of courage and a milestone for the civil rights movement. One of the most enjoyable things about being a teenager is being able to be with your friends and socialize outside of school. On May 17, 1954, Melba’s opportunity began to emerge. In spite of the Supreme Court ruling, Arkansas did not begin to integrate its schools. Although all the students knew it would not be easy to be the first black students to integrate, it was a lot more strenuous and difficult than anyone of them had imagined. Beals portrays very well the hatred and corruption of the white citizens of Little Rock throughout the book and gives the reader a good glimpse of what it was like to be in her shoes. This opportunity was stripped from Melba the second she decided to attend Central High School. a young girl, she experienced first hand how awful it was to be segregated against and be constantly ridiculed simply because of her color.
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