Warriors Don't Cry
Fighting Hate, Without Fighting Physically The book, Warriors Don't Cry, by Melba Pattillo Beals, describes the lives of the "Little Rock Nine" and what horrors these nine students had to go through in the 1957 integration period in Arkansas. The author, Melba, was one of the nine students that was being integrated into Central High School and she talks of her first encounters with racism and goes on to talk about her life until her last days in Central High School. The book opens up with Melba and her former African-American classmates going back into Central High School in 1987, but this time, they had much support in going into the school, unlike the first time in 1957 where they were treated horribly and told to stay out. Melba walks through the halls in the present day and remembers all the horrible acts of violence and racism they faced when they went to this school. It took a while for Melba to actually understand how serious the problem of racism was in the United States, more specifically, in the Southern United States. Melba didn't quite understand that when something was labeled "white" it meant what it said, because she went into the white ladies bathroom and sat down in one of the stalls and went to the bath
Melba attended Horace Mann, a all-black school, and one day they passed around a paper for students to sign, if they wanted to go to Central High School. She went alone, and thanks to some white folks that didn't want to see her get hurt, they shared a bench with her to protect her from the angry mob around her. The government of Arkansas, Orvel Faubus also sent men of the National Guard to the school to surround it and not allow the black students to enter. Central High allowed her to come back the next semester, but her time didn't last long when she was permanently expelled for calling a girl "white trash. Board of Education, that schools needed to integrate, because it was not constitutional to provide unequal schooling to others. Melba and the other eight students showed that with hard work and determination, you can't get what is right, done, even if it seems like everyone is against it but you and a few other people. During the school day, even with the guards around, the students were punched, insulted, and their lockers were destroyed. Melba graciously signed her name on the paper and was chosen as one of the 17 students to attend the school, soon after many meetings with the N. Governor Faubus justified these actions by stating that the white students would have harmed the black students and he was trying to prevent violence in Central High School. Five students decided to take courses at Arkansas State University, hoping that the high schools would open back up, one of these 5 was Melba.
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