In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education that schools needed to integrate and provide equal education for all people and it was unconstitutional for the state to deny certain citizens this opportunity. Although this decision was a landmark case and meant the schools could no longer deny admission to a child based solely on the color of their skin. By 1957, most schools had began to slowly integrate their

Beals, Melba Patillo. "Warriors Don't Cry." Pocket Books. (February 1995).

The African-Americans had been experiencing segregation all of their lives. The blacks were forced to use separate restrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants, sidewalks, and other public places. Beals recalls one of her experiences with segregation in the city when she tells the story of when she was only five years old and saved up all of her money in order to buy a ticket on the merry-go-round at the park. When she finally had enough, she boldly walked to the ticket-taker who promptly denied her admittance. He told her that the ride was full even though she pointed out empty seats to him. She fled the park quickly that day, but she never was able to escape the horrible memories of her childhood. She wrote in her diary at the age of sixteen: "In 1957 while most teenage girls were listening to Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", watching Elvis gyrate, and collecting cindine slips, I was escaping the hanging rope of a lynch mob, dodging sticks of dynamite, and washing away burning acid spray into my eyes." The state or local governments did nothing to try and stop this, in fact, they even passed a few laws that made things worse.

Even though the guards were with the students, they still experienced constant hatred and acts of racial violence. Insults were yells, black students were punched, lockers were destroyed, and fights broke out. Melba even had sticks of dynamite tossed her way, she was stabbed, and a white student intentionally sprayed acid into her eyes, nearly causing permanent blindness.

The definition of a warrior is "one who is engaged in or experienced in battle, or in the military life; a soldier; a champion". Melba Beals proved to be a warrior throughout all of the events that surrounded the integration of Central High School. Although she eventually had to leave town, she and the other eight students showed true bravery and courage when they decided to scale the walls of segregation and end the oppression of the white people in Little Rock. Beals was truly woman who fought hard and kept her faith in route to becoming a "warrior" and eventually a "champion" in the fight for civil rights.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Peggy Sue, Rock Arkansas, Little Rock, Central School, Rock Nine, National Guard, President Eisenhower, Governor Faubus, National Guardsmen, Minnijean Brown, little rock, black students, central school, civil rights, eight students, little rock nine, white students, rock arkansas, white people, rights movement, rock nine, warriors don't cry, civil rights movement, little rock arkansas, don't cry pocket,
Approximate Word count = 2643
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)