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Connecting people with uplifting stories of comfort and hope, prayer, and tools for faithful, positive living.

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In 1957, Melba Pattillo Beals made history and headlines when she was selected to be one of nine Arkansas students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in the wake of 1954's Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education. Beals chronicled that harrowing, life-shaping experience in Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (Simon & Schuster, 1994), which became a million-copy bestseller. Now, in March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine, a book for young readers, Beals documents her experiences growing up black in the 1940s Jim Crow South. A former TV journalist, journalism professor, and communications consultant, who received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999, Beals spoke with PW about revisiting her past, lessons she has passed on to her own children, and what she hopes readers will glean from her new book.

Was it a challenge to reach back in time to recreate this memoir?

Yes, since in order to write the story I had to relive it. At the same time, I have been blessed with a very good memory, and as I look back, it is easy for me to remember pieces of conversations-conversations are always running in my head. I believe that as adults, each one of us is a compilation of our memories and of all that we've gone through. As I wrote this book, I realized that psychologically I had stuffed quite a bit into the corners of my head for many years. Writing this book allowed me to bring the past into the forefront. I'd often fall asleep at night and dream of what I was writing about.

You write about witnessing, at the age of five, Ku Klux Klansmen hanging a man you knew from the rafters of your great-grandmother's church, his punishment for being "uppity." And you tell of witnessing as a teen disturbing goings-on after being unwittingly driven to a remote KKK gathering. Was it emotionally wrenching for you to resurrect such horrifying memories of hatred and prejudice?

Those moments were never not in my head. The sight of Mr. Harvey dangling from the church rafters, and the sound of the growling in his throat, has stayed in my mind for years and years. And it was a different challenge describing the scene at the KKK gathering. Looking back, it is clear that the Klansmen were raping women at that meeting in the woods. I could have made that assumption in my book, but when it occurred, I was too young to make assumptions. And I did not want to expose young readers to that information.

With that observation, are you speaking as a mother as well as an author?

I suppose I am. My daughter is now in her early 50s, and I adopted twin boys, who are now 26, when I was 50. So even in my 70s, I'm blessed to have this clear vision of what I do and what I don't want my babies to have in their heads, which is always on my mind as I write for young people.

Do you find writing for young people very different from writing for adults?

I actually wrote Warrior for readers between the ages of 12 and 16, and then the book became a hit with adults, who have consistently purchased it over the years. I hope that happens with March Forward, Girl as well. I really don't think too much about who the audience is when I'm writing a story. I think about the content and the message-and about shaking things up a bit! I hope that my new book is satisfying and informative for all audiences. It is important to me that my books reach all readers, young and adult.

To what extent did you share your childhood experiences with your own children when they were young?

My children's experiences and expectations of life are so different than mine were as a child-they never lived in Little Rock in the 1940s-and I didn't share parts of my past with them when they were very young. In fact, one day my sons came home from school with a copy of Warriors Don't Cry, and they said, "The lady in this book looks just like you, but she's prettier. Maybe if you wore makeup every day you'd be as pretty as she is!" For the longest time, they didn't know that I was one of the Little Rock Nine, but it was important to me to instill in them, as children, the strength that I had as a young person. I have always told them to hold on to their dreams and their dignity and to be true to themselves. And I hope, through that message, I have given them a feeling of strength.

Is it safe to assume that you want readers of March Forward, Girl to take away a similar message from your life story?

Yes. I don't care if they are from the moon and are green from head to toe-I want all kids to know that they are valuable, and their dreams are precious. You just need to decide who you are and who you want to become, and you can achieve it-so go for it! Do not let others define the person you are and what you're capable of. And stand up for yourself and be willing to stand up for others. If you do that, you will always remain true to yourself.
March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99 Jan. ISBN 978-1-328-88212-7

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In 1957, Melba Pattillo Beals made history and headlines when she was selected to be one of nine Arkansas students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in the wake of 1954's Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education.

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New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Albertin, Walter, photographer. [Public domain] Protests and racial slurs erupted from an angry mob waiting in front of Little Rock's Central High School. White men wielded ropes, threatening to lynch any black person attempting to make their way to the entrance of the school. Amongst the crowd, members of the Ku Klux Klan planned the violent deaths of nine black teenagers who dared to challenge school segregation when it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Of those nine teenagers stood 15-year-old Melba Pattillo Beals. Chosen as one of the nine black students to integrate Central High School, Beals was met with opposition, hatred, and violence. Born on December 7, 1941, Beals was born to Lois and Howell Pattillo. She was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and lived with her divorced mother; her younger brother, Conrad; and her maternal grandmother, India Peyton. Beals is known as one of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African-American students who integrated the previously all-white Central High School in 1957. After her attendance at Central High, she received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan because of their strong opposition to black Americans attending school with their children. Her family and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) responded by arranging for Beals to live in California with a family who had membership in the NAACP. Beals was able to continue her education and pursue various careers in California, where she currently resides. In 1994, Beals published Warriors Don't Cry, a memoir recounting her experiences at Central High. Heroes exemplify a variety of noble traits. Two of these attributes are influence and persistence. An influential person initiates change and makes a difference to better society. They inspire others to speak up and stand up for what is right. Someone who is persistent follows through with a course of action despite resistance or challenges. Melba Pattillo Beals's influential role in the civil rights movement and her persistence through struggles and difficulties deems her worthy of the title, hero.

The U.S. Army [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)] Beals's influence is revealed through how her attendance at Central High School played a role in the civil rights movement and shed light on educational integration. In her 1994 memoir, titled Warriors Don't Cry, Beals wrote about attending Central High during the 1957 to 1958 school year: "It would turn out that our determination to remain in school, despite having to tread through a jungle of hatred and human torture from segregationists, would help to change the course of history and grant access to equality and opportunity for people of color" (Beals 16-17). The actions and resolve of the Little Rock Nine led to and initiated change for people of color. Although she had to endure physical and verbal violence, Beals persevered for the greater purpose of advocating and fighting for equality and civil rights. After a few weeks into their first semester at Central High, the members of the Little Rock Nine met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beals revealed that upon meeting King, he expressed to her, "You're going to this school in order to facilitate a lifestyle for everybody around you. You're not doing this for yourself only" (Holness). Although Beals felt discouraged because of the integration, her experience set forth future integrations and made an impact on the civil rights movement. Beals explained she was whining and complaining about the situation, but when King told her to be unselfish, she understood this was not only to her benefit but to the benefit of others. Reflecting on the development of civil rights in the United States and the events that occurred in her life, Beals conveyed, "In my experience, fighting for my own equality, I've concluded that the civil rights movement served us all because it created a more level field for interaction, one where everyone has a greater opportunity to pursue, acquire, and sustain personal equality" (Pattillo-Beals). Beals's role in the integration of Central High School contributed to the ongoing efforts for civil rights. Her personal struggle led to opportunities for African-Americans to receive better education and pursue various careers. More importantly, her fight for equality allows others, regardless of race, to achieve their own individual equality. Beals demonstrates influence through her part in educational desegregation and how she advocated, initiated change, and created more opportunities for black Americans.

Understanding there would be opposition to the integration, Beals persisted through physical and verbal harassment fueled by anger, prejudice, and hostility. To endure the struggles she faced, Beals motivated herself with a simple reminder: "But it taught me an important lesson: I had to keep going and remember that there was going to be something good about each new day" (Holness). Despite the difficulties and hardships Beals experienced throughout her life, she continued to move forward, "remember[ing] that there was going to be something good about each new day." With God as a motivation, Beals looked for something positive every day. Though it was difficult to find positivity when she was oppressed and surrounded by negativity, Melba's persistence overcame the bleak time she lived in and emphasized the need for change. In her memoir, Beals documented a conversation between her and her grandmother after a segregationist dumped spoiled eggs on Melba. Beals's grandmother advised her to "change the rules of the game, girl, and they might not like it so much." Beals responded to her grandmother saying they would "think I was crazy," to which her grandmother replied, "They'd think you were no longer their victim" (Beals 379). Beals's refusal to let others know the effects of the physical and verbal abuse gave her strength and indicated to her attackers that she was not a victim. Melba took her pain and hurt and used it to fight back in her own way, rather than letting the segregationists use her suffering against her. She held her head high, did not reveal her fear, and persisted through the school year. Describing both the physical and the verbal assaults, Beals explained what it felt like to be the target of constant "name-calling, which, after a while, [...] becomes in some ways as painful or more than the physicality of the incident because you begin to question in your mind as a child, who am I? Who am I really?" (Davies). Beals experienced verbal abuse that made her begin to question who she was other than a person of color. She began to have similar feelings to the majority of the adults living around her: oppressed, fearful, powerless. Beals's understanding of her purpose at Central High moved her to persist and persevere past the verbal assaults. Throughout her life, Beals persevered with little to no regard for the racism she received.

Sgerbic [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] Deserving of the epithet "hero," Melba Pattillo Beals exhibits influence and persistence because of her impact on the civil rights movement and her determination and ability to overcome difficulties. Beals emphasized a need for change, opportunity, and equal rights. Because the segregationists did not want the integration to succeed, their opposition led to violence and assault, but Beals persevered through this despite its extremity. Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 1950s, Beals was surrounded by oppression and fear. In spite of the environment she was raised in, Beals went on to fight for the equality of all humans, regardless of race. "Until I am welcomed everywhere as an equal simply because I am human, I remain a warrior on a battlefield that I must not leave" (Beals 20). She is a warrior on a battlefield we have all fought on because everyone has personal perceptions and prejudices. I am inspired by Beals's fight and I hope to be a kinder person and be able to speak up when advocating for change. Rather than letting the racism and discrimination she received affect how she perceives others, Beals accepts everyone for who they are. "Certainly race relations are not perfect, and, to make things even more complex, the racial divide no longer encompasses only black and white because we are a tapestry of different races and religions. But because more of us now can see exactly what we want, more of us can now define what our individual equality might look like" (Pattillo-Beals). Beals experienced racial inequality specifically between white people and black Americans. Her acceptance of varying races and religions demonstrates her support for equality and inclusion, and her appreciation of diversity. Beals's fight for equality inspires me not to judge or perceive anyone based on stereotypes or personal differences. Everyone is fighting for equality in their own way, and it is important to honor everyone's individual fight without judgment or bias. A warrior is defined as a brave or experienced soldier or fighter. Melba Pattillo Beals was once called a warrior. Her fight personifies that "If one person is denied equality, we are all denied equality" (Beals 20). Because of her battle, Melba Pattillo Beals is the epitome of a deserving hero.

Works Cited

Beals, Melba. Warriors Don't Cry: a Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals. BookRags, Inc., 2011.

Davies, Dave. "'They Didn't Want Me There': Remembering The Terror Of School Integration." NPR, NPR, 15 Jan. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/01/15/577371750/they-didn-t-want-me-there-remembering-the-terror-of-school-integration.

Holness, Jacqueline J. "Counting Her Blessings, One by One: Melba Beals, a member of the Little Rock Nine, describes how faith helped her flourish amid many trials." Christianity Today, Jan.-Feb. 2018, p. 74+. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A524433821/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=87fb6641. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.

Patillo-Beals, Melba. "Beyond racism: a 'Little Rock Nine' member and civil rights." Christian Science Monitor, 18 Sept. 2010. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A237391915/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=9cc67e2d. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.

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Melba Pattillo Beals: a Warrior and a Hero

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New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Albertin, Walter, photographer. [Public domain] Protests and racial slurs erupted from an angry mob waiting in front of Little Rock's Central High School. White men wielded ropes, threatening to lynch any black person attempting to make their way to the entrance of the school.

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https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/melba-pattillo-beals-725/

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Melba Pattillo Beals made history as a member of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The world watched as they braved constant intimidation and threats from those who opposed desegregation of the formerly all-white high school. She later recounted this harrowing year in her book titled Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Desegregate Little Rock's Central High School.

Melba Pattillo was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Beals grew up surrounded by family members who knew the importance of an education. Her mother, Lois Marie Pattillo, PhD, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1954 and was a high school English teacher at the time of the crisis. Her father, Howell Pattillo, worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. She had one brother, Conrad, who served as a U.S. marshal in Little Rock, and they all lived with her grandmother, India Peyton.

While attending all-black Horace Mann High School in Little Rock, she knew her educational opportunities were not equal to her white counterparts' opportunities at Central High. In response to this inequality, Pattillo volunteered to transfer to the all-white Central High School with eight other black students from Horace Mann and Dunbar Junior High School. The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be known, faced daily harassment from white students. Beals later recounted that the soldier assigned to protect her instructed her, "In order to get through this year, you will have to become a soldier. Never let your enemy know what you are feeling." Beals took the soldier's advice, and, while the rest of the school year remained turbulent, all but one student, Minnijean Brown, was able to finish the school year. Barred from entering Central High the next year when the city's schools were closed, Pattillo moved to Santa Rosa, California, to live with a sponsoring family who were members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for her senior year of high school.

In 1961, Pattillo married John Beals. They had one daughter but divorced after ten years of marriage. She subsequently adopted two boys.

Beals graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in journalism and earned an MA in the same field from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. She has worked as a communications consultant, a motivational speaker, and as a reporter for San Francisco's public television station and for the Bay Area's NBC affiliate.

Beals was the first of the Little Rock Nine to write a book based on her experiences at Central High. Published in 1994, Warriors Don't Cry gives a first-hand account of the trials Beals encountered from segregationists and racist students. The book was named the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book for 1995 and won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award that same year. White is a State of Mind, her 1999 sequel to Warriors Don't Cry, follows Beals from her senior year in high school to her college and family days in California.

Beals was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1958, along with other members of the Little Rock Nine and Daisy Bates, their mentor. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the nation's highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, to the members of the Little Rock Nine. Beals lives in the San Francisco area and works as an author and public speaker.In 2018, she published two books: I Will Not Fear: My Story of a Lifetime of Building Faith under Fire and March Forward Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine.

Commissioned by the Oxford American magazine and first created as a septet based upon Beals's words in Warriors Don't Cry, the piece No Tears Suite was performed in 2017 at the sixtieth anniversary of the Central High desegregation; the six-movement piece was expanded with orchestral parts for a 2019 premiere performance at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center that included jazz musicians alongside Arkansas Symphony Orchestra members.

For additional information:
Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1986.

Beals, Melba Pattillo. I Will Not Fear: My Story of a Lifetime of Building Faith under Fire. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2018.

---. March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.

---. Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Desegregate Little Rock's Central High School. New York: Washington Square Books, 1994.

---. White is a State of Mind. New York: Putnam Publishing Group, 1999.

Jacoway, Elizabeth, and C. Fred Williams, eds. Understanding the Little Rock Crisis: An Exercise in Remembrance and Reconciliation. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center. Little Rock, Arkansas. http://www.nps.gov/chsc/ (accessed November 19, 2021).

Roy, Beth. Bitters in the Honey: Tales of Hope and Disappointment across Divides of Race and Time. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.
National Park Service
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

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Beals, Melba Pattillo - Encyclopedia of Arkansas

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Melba Pattillo Beals made history as a member of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The world watched as they braved constant intimidation and threats from those who opposed desegregation of the formerly all-white high school.

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Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity

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Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the students to volunteer to transfer to Central High School, was born into a family where education was extremely important. Her mother Lois, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas in 1954, and went on to earn a doctorate degree.

After the integration of Central High School, Beals earned a bachelor of arts degree and a masters degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York respectively. She has been a reporter, communications consultant, and motivational speaker.

Beals is also an author and became the first of the Little Rock Nine to write a book based on her experiences in 1957. Her memoir, Warriors Don't Cry was published in 1994 and was named the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book, and won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award the following year.

Her Experience in 1957
"I sometimes wish I could change myself into a psychiatrist to determine what makes me such a hated member of this school. Can they really be treating me this way because I am brown?"

(Photo courtesy Central High Museum Historical Collections/UALR Archives)
<<< Back to Little Rock Nine
References:

Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2000.

Beals, Melba Pattillo. Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High. New York: Washington Square Books, 1994.

Counts, Will. A Life is More Than a Moment. Indiana University Press: Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1999.

Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey. Dir. Rob Thompson. North East Productions, 2002. DVD.

LaNier, Carlotta Walls, and Lisa Frazier Page. A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School. New York: One World/Ballantine, 2009.

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Visitor Center. Little Rock, Arkansas. http://www.nps.gov/chsc/ (accessed June 16, 2012).

National Park Service, Central High School National Historic Site. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Retrieved June 5, 2012, from http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=723

Roberts, Terrence. July 7, 2008. "Dr. Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine," Facing History and Ourselves. Retrieved from http://www.facing.org/about/who/profiles/dr-terrence-roberts.

Roberts, Terrence. Lessons from Little Rock. Little Rock: Butler Center Books, 2009.

The Ernest Green Story. Disney Educational Productions, 2005. DVD.

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Melba Pattillo Beals, The Little Rock Nine

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Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the students to volunteer to transfer to Central High School, was born into a family where education was extremely important. Her mother Lois, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas in 1954, and went on to earn a doctorate degree.

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It was now known that Governer Faubus and the President had came to an agreement on removing the soldiers. However, it was quickly taken back because the President did not feel as though the Governer would do his job to protect the black students. There were still no signs of the soldiers when they got to school, but the vice-principal did the job of 50 soldiers to ward off the crowd. The same people who had been shooed off attacked Melba in the hall, but she stood up for herself. She had managed to scare them off, she had shown them her strength.

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The soldiers were gone, and in there place were the Arkansas National Guard. They weren't going to protect the group, they hadn't last time and they wouldn't now. The angry students took this chance to throw everything they had from threats to insults to cruel pranks. Melba had nearly quit by the time it was lunch and her cries weren't heard when she went to the clerks. Melba attempted to go to the restroom once more, but then was attacked by burning toilet paper whilst she was in her stall. She resorted to throwing books at her aggressors to get out and away from it. Melba was so stunned and hurt from the behavior of her peers that she couldn't speak on the ride home.

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Though it was the end of the week, Melba felt that there was something missing inside of herself. She tried to talk to her friend, Marsha, but would only be reminded of the danger she is putting her in. Melba felt separated from the people she once knew. She didn't have time to think normally anymore, everything was important and everything was necessary. The only good thing that seemed to come during her weekend was her date with Vince. She couldn't do anything, but test out new hairstyles. The date with Vince allowed to her to rest and relax with one of her equals and peers. And he felt proud to be with her, unlike others who either stayed away or shunned her.

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As the school day came to an end, excitement for the weekend started to rocket. The school had a football game against an arch-rival, so it was understandable. Oddly, the stairways were unusually empty and it was class break. As quickly as it ended, a dynamite was thrown right at her. Danny was able to put it out, but showed no care for the girl he had saved. Melba was too focused on her safety when she was told she would be having her first pep rally. Melba's fears were right as she was cornered by four football players. They threatened her school life and wellbeing before letting her go. She goes to Danny, and he asks her why she didn't do anything. She wonders on what she could have done, and he says that it takes a warrior to fight a battle.

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Despite the progress, Governor Faubus had to put his word in. He announced that the soldiers were becoming physical, and hustling students. To keep the soldiers out of trouble and in the schools, they had to back off. Which left Melba vulnerable, and she knew it. Without the protection, Melba saw the attitudes of the students changed. She thought she found kindness in a fellow girl, but was soon stabbed in the back by the reality. Melba stayed strong, and didn't show them her pain.

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The hecklers decided that they wanted to up their game and torment Melba. The moment she came in with Danny, she was followed and spit at, kicked and shoved, and then insulted when she asked for help. Danny, sadly, could not do anything extreme to protect her; he couldn't touch the students or verbally insult them. Though the fact was disappointing, his demeanor could easily intimidate and that gave Melba a little more confidence in him and herself. Melba forced herself to endure the annoyances

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Chapter 13, Protection against the opposition

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Chapter 13, Protection against the opposition

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Melba felt unsafe once the soldiers had left, but then she found that they really hadn't. As all nine separated, one would get a soldier by their side to protect them. The soldier that had been assigned to Melba introduced himself as Danny, and he waited for her duteously. However, there were still some that had things to say to her. They were not kind things. Melba had to deal with threats against her as she simply went to the bathroom when her soldier could not join her, or getting through a fire drill and dealing with another mob. Luckily, the soldiers were always there if needed.

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Whilst at home, Melba's family gets a knock at the door. The people there claim to be sent from the Office of the President. With suspicion, Melba's grandmother relented. This was a good decision because the President had given Melba protection against the mob if she went back to school. The next morning Melba turns the to find fifty uniformed soldiers waiting for them. The soldiers stayed by their side as they attempted once again to attend school, and they did so successfully.

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The men were conflicted on letting one of the kids hang, and Melba couldn't help but let the horror start to take over her thoughts. She turned to face her group, and some were already crying. The conversation between the officers quieted, and they made their way to the group. A man named Gene Smith introduces himself to the group, and makes it known that he will not leave anyone behind for the mob. They were taken to two cars in a loading dock area, and told to hunker down and not make themselves known. Melba sensed the danger that they were in when she saw the gun strapped to their driver's side. Finally, Smith gave the drivers the sign to go and they pulled out quickly. The mob tried to stop the car, hurl rocks at it, and get to the group. The driver accelerated and the faces started to disappear. They were allowed to sit up after a while, and Melba thanked the man once she was home safe. Her neighbors and family were gathered in the front, and Melba was questioned on her well-being. Before she could answer, she was pushed inside. She comforted her troubled mother, and they all sat down to listen to the newscast. They were yet again withdrawn from Central High.

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Melba was surprised to see the police protecting them from the angry mob, but when they got inside, everything was chaos. Luckily, a woman helped them through the heckling crowd and got them to the principal's office. Now that they had their class schedules, they were ushered back out of their safe space and back into the highschool. The only kindness she sees that morning is from her PE teacher, that is short-lived because of the mob breaking in. Melba tries to escape, but has trouble on the way with some of the other teens. Melba finds her guide, and is so relieved that she doesn't mind the scolding. She has to choke back her tears as she goes to her next class, which gives her peace as the teacher shows her sympathy. Before she can rest, her guide snatches her up and takes her to the office. The rest of her group had gathered, but the mob was too big to get out of the school. Melba eavesdrops on the men's conversations, and hears something horrible. They need to use one of the kids for bait to get the others out.

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Melba and her group of nine walk to the court where they will try to push their point across, so they can go to school. Melba felt frightened of all the powerful, government men that would be present. She felt if she told the truth about her experience trying to get into Central, their whole case would be upturned. They didn't get through the court without being insulted, however. Everything proceed no matter the protest, and Melba witnessed her first trial.

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Melba starts to feel the affects of being a young activist. Her friends are starting to pull away from her and avoiding her completely. Their reasoning are rooted in their safety, but it doesn't help ease Melba's feelings. Melba is slightly comforted by the fact that she can still go out to wrestling matches with her grandmother, but then those are taken away from her too. Melba breaks down in front of her grandmother after hearing this news, and locks herself away.

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Chapter 7, Losing support from her community

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Chapter 7, Losing support from her community

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Melba is starting to see that what she is doing is not gaining the support of some of the people she loves. Her grandmother's friends think she should wait. Her father has made it known that he cares more about his job. Even the man who her grandmother seems to like is unsure about the whole movement. Melba wants to be mad, but she's more saddened by the fact that there are people in her community who are against her actions.

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When Melba and her mother get back home, the first thing they ask about is whether Elizabeth is okay. Her grandmother tells her that Elizabeth was helped by a man and a woman who rode with her on the bus. That eases their worries for a while, until they hear that the soldiers who didn't help them were armed with weapons. Her mother is angry because of that fact. They moved on, but Melba had to swear to silence and stay away from the outside; if she spoke too much, they could connect her to their deeds. After a few nights of no activity, Melba was excited to hear a phone call. However, the person she wanted to hear wasn't there. Instead it was a man who wanted to threaten her and her family's lives. Melba decides not to tell her family. This would be a mistake, because their house would get shot up by three men.

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Melba and her mother get separated from their group on the first day of school at Central High. They push through the crowd enough to see Elizabeth Eckford being heckled and harassed by angry white people. However, even with no protection from the soldier, Elizabeth would hold her head high despite the cruel things being thrown at her. The soldiers were not letting her through, so Elizabeth walked alone to the bus stop while being followed. Melba tried to keep watching, but she soon got grabbed by an angry mob member and had to run to the car with her mother.

Quotes: "The anger of the huge crowd was directed toward Elizabeth Eckford as she stood alone, in front of Central High, facing the long line of soldiers, with a huge crowd of white people screeching at her back." (P49)

"At times, our pursuers were so close I could look back and see the anger in their eyes." (P51)

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Chapter 4, Losing her father and his support

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Chapter 4, Losing her father and his support

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With Melba being apart of an integration movement, there comes obstacles. Even within her own family. Her father disapproved greatly, and he showed it. He said that his employers were threatening his job because of what they were doing. However, Melba's grandmother came to Melba's defense and supported what she was doing. Melba is suffering from her responsibility, but also feels a sense of pride at what she and others are doing.

Quote: "The only good thing about the meetings was that they allowed  me to visit with my friends--the other students who would be integrating Central." (P34)

"We integrating students shared many things in common. All of our parents were strict, no-nonsense types." (P35)

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Chapter 3, Assaulted by a man and saved by her bully.

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Chapter 3, Assaulted by a man and saved by her bully.

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At twelve, the Brown v. Board of Education movement began. Which meant that life would be more dangerous. All children were warned to stay in groups when walking home, that it wasn't safe for them. Melba makes the mistake of not paying attention, and is confronted by a white man. His intentions are clear when he tries to give her a ride and says "I got candy in the car. Lots of candy" (P25). Melba starts to run and declines his offer, but he catches her. The man tries to assault her, but someone comes to her rescue. This person is named Marissa, who is known to be a bit of a bully.  Marissa guides her home, and explains that "If we didn't hurry, we'd get raped" (P26). Her Grandma burns her clothes when she comes home, and Melba is shocked by this. Melba feels dirty because of what that man did to her.

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Chapter 2, Learning about the racism that she'll soon face and seeing how it affects her family

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Chapter 2, Learning about the racism that she'll soon face and seeing how it affects her family

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Melba reminisces on when she was young and didn't know any better. There were times when she experienced racism unknowingly, and her family had to get her out of it. When she finally was old enough to start asking questions, nobody cared to answer her. She was told to "Be patient, child, and tell God all bout it" (P7). She talks about how her mother pushed through the setbacks, so she could get her master's degree in an all-white university. Nevertheless, she made it through it all and graduated. With this came status, Melba's family was considered middle-class. However, they didn't get any special treatment. Her family still had to constantly endure the discrimination that they faced. For example, Melba's mother was harassed and her father wanted to defend her but, "there was an awful big fear keeping him silent" (P15).

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During her junior year, Melba Beals compares her life to the average teenage girl. Whilst they were watching Elvis, she was fighting for her life. Whilst they were collecting crinoline slips, she was being chased by lynch mobs. Melba Beals was apart of a group of nine black children that wanted to integrate schools. This put her in danger of being lynched, mobbed, harassed. She says that on her first day of school, "Governor Faubus dispatched gun-toting Arkansas National Guard Solders to prevent us from entering" (PG1). Melba and her mother were also chased down by a group carrying ropes, planning on killing them. Some time after they won a court order that allowed them to enter the school, but soon there were people rushing to get them back out. Finally on their third trip, the group got through one full day of school. Melba says that she had to become an adult faster than her peers because of the cause she was fighting for. However, if it came to it, she would do it again. Her grandmother was her main role model, telling her to keep fighting.

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The book starts with Melba and the other eight people she went to Little Rock with having a reunion. They're all older, with children, and grown up. They enjoy each others company whilst reminiscing on the event that brought them together. Reporters come to interview them, and Melba speaks about her experience. She tells the reporter that "It was like being a solder on a battle field" (P2). Melba says she hasn't had the strength to come back to Little Rock as often because of what she experienced. She wonders where Governor Faubus is, the same man who allowed all the of it to happen; who supported segregation. She finds out that "He wasn't invited. At least that's what he says" (P4). As the Little Rock Nine leave, they head to the same school they tried to integrate and get greeted by a man named Derrick Noble.

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Melba Beals
Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High