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
Not only did the desegregation of Central High School jeopardize the nine students’ lives, it also ruined their social lives. One of the most enjoyable things about being a teenager is being able to be with your friends and socialize outside of school. This opportunity was stripped from Melba the second she decided to attend Central High School. She couldn’t ever leave her house for anything because of constant threats and anti-segregationists who were just waiting outside of her house. In her book she referred to her home as a prison during the year of integration. Even her black friends from her previous school abandoned her because they were afraid they might be seen by white citizens and hassled themselves. Melba continually battled with herself, not always knowing what to do. Sometimes she desperately wanted to give up and have her old life back. 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. On May 17, 1954, Melba’s opportunity began to emerge. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In spite of the Supreme Court ruling, Arkansas did not begin to integrate its schools. Eventually, a federal court ordered Central High School in Little Rock to begin admitting black students in 1957 in order to begin the state’s process of desegregation. Melba saw t
Some common words found in the essay are:
Central School, Rock Nine, Rock Arkansas, Little Rock, Pattillo Beals, Melba Beals, Melba Beal’s, Supreme Court’s, Supreme Court, Arkansas September, central school, black students, little rock, nine black, nine students, civil rights, school little rock, nine black students, school little, attend central school, attend all-white, rock arkansas, all-white central, little rock arkansas, all-white central school,
Approximate Word count = 1040
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
