Warriors DOnt Cry
In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the horrible acts of violence that were committed by the white students against her and her friends. 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
The members of the Little Rock Nine, along with help from their family members, community, churches, and national organizations proved that although some people will go to great lengths in order to prevent desegregation, with hard work and determination, and a little bit of luck, things can and will get better. They were part of a stepping stone that helped the civil rights movement to take off and eventually led to complete integration of all ethnic groups in America. As the year went by the insults decreased gradually, but the hatred still remained. Eventually the troops left and the students had to fend for themselves. Minnijean Brown was expelled just before Christmas because she could not handle the hatred anymore and intentionally dumped a lunch tray on two white boys. She was allowed to come back to the school for the next semester but then permanently expelled for calling a white girl who provoked her "white trash". This gave the white students at the school something to be excited about. The hate crimes began to happen more frequently. Nevertheless, the other eight students never blinked and eye or started anything, they only turned the other cheek in a very brave, almost warrior-like way. The school began to get national attention and the students were labeled as the "Little Rock Nine". They were nine brave, young African-American students from honest, hardworking, God-fearing families who were taking a stand for the oppression that their people had faced for the past couple of centuries in America. Beals was an aspiring young woman who dreamt of receiving a formal education and one day becoming a prominent member of both the black and white communities. Their story came at a time during the height of the civil rights movements that were sweeping across the states. White people were beginning to realize that coexistence with other racial groups was possible and even beneficial to society at-large. Unfortunately, the people of Little Rock, Arkansas, had not been introduced to this way of life. Some out of fear, others out of ignorance, and still others out of hatred couldn't stand the idea of blacks and whites living together peacefully. Even others didn't think the South was quite ready for the change. Even Governor Faubus himself said that the state would integrate when the time was right. students, but those in the deep south were still trying to fight the decision. One of the most widely known instances of this happening was at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. It took the school district three years to work out an integration plan. The board members and faculty didn't like the fact that they were going to have to teach a group of students that were looked down upon and seen as "inferior" to white students. However, after much opposition, a plan was finally proposed. The plan called for the integration to happen in three phases. First, during the 1957-1958 school year, the senior high school would be integrated, then after completion at the senior high level, the junior high would be integrated, and the elementary levels would follow in due time. Seventeen students were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be the first black teenagers to begin the integration process. The town went into an uproar. Many acts of violence were committed toward the African-Americans in the city. Racism and segregation seemed to be on the rise. Most black students decided to stay at Horace Mann, the black high school that was underfunded and didn't boast a very high graduation rate, let alone much of a college acceptance percentage. Some out of fear and others just accepted the harsh and unfair circumstances. Well, the students refused to go down without an intense struggle. The NAACP, led by Daisy Bates, organized boycotts against white businesses in Little Rock and even took the case to federa
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Approximate Word count = 2608
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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