Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patitllo Beals
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(Mass Market Paperback - Abridged Edition with New Forward)
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
- Pub. Date: July 2007
- ISBN-13: 9781416948827
- Sales Rank: 9,826
- Age Range: Young Adult
- 240pp
- Edition Description: Abridged Edition with New Forward
Synopsis
In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates and their parents, threatened by a lynch mob's rope, attacked with lighted sticks of dynamite, and injured by acid sprayed in her eyes. But through it all, she acted with dignity and courage, and refused to back down.
This is her remarkable story.
Children's Literature
Melba Patillo Beals was one of the nine students who was allowed to attend an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education. This book documents her first year at the school. This integration was covered by national news, but Melba's first-hand account of her experiences gives a human touch to this highly-political situation. Many people were against this integration and physically gaining entry to the school was Melba's first hurdle. The NAACP escorted her and the other students, but the angry crowds would not allow them to enter the school. Arkansas' governor dispatched the National Guard to keep the black children out of the white school. The U.S. courts intervened, and Melba was admitted into the school. Once inside, Melba faced continuous threats of violence, acts of violence, and racial slurs under the guidance of teachers and school administrators. Because Melba's safety was jeopardized, a special military unit, the 101st Airborne Division, was sent into school. Melba was still abused even with soldiers providing personal protection. Melba uses journal entries and newspaper headlines to deliver her memoir. Segregation, peer pressure, and the division of the country over the issue of integration really come alive through her words. Melba's determination to do the right thing in spite of the tremendous amount of cruelty she faced is stunning. There is a delicate scene in which Melba is nearly raped in retribution for the court's ruling. Reviewer: Julie Hendrix
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Warriors Don't Cry Reviewby Anonymous
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May 20, 2008: Melba Pattillo Beals has written an excellent nonfiction book, Warriors Don?t Cry. Warriors Don?t Cry tells the story of the fight to integrate Little Rock?s all white high school, from the point of view of a student. Melba was a student in an all black high school in the 1950?s when the federal court ordered Little Rock to integrate its public high schools. Melba was one of the first nine African American students to attend all-white Little Rock High School. She tells the reader about what people did or tried to do to her in sharp detail. This book focuses on the challenges faced by the pioneers of integration, and it shows the courage it took for Melba and the other black children to walk through a mob to go to school every day. It has many lessons to teach, and this book is one of the best books that I have ever read. I loved it. Warriors Don?t Cry is a wonderful book because it brings to the surface the way people really acted. It is almost unbelievable, but it is painfully true. Melba writes that almost three weeks after the mob stopped her first attempt to enter the school she was finally able to enter the school. However, that day she was forced to leave because the mob wanted to kill them. One of her Little Rock teachers said that, ?`We may have to let the mob have one of these kids, so?s we can distract them long enough to get the others out.?? I can not even imagine how it would feel to go to school with the fear of being spit on, beaten up, having dynamite thrown at me or even being killed with a knife. It took great courage for Melba to go to school each day knowing that any of these things might happen to her and that almost none of the teachers would do anything to stop it. The author?s ability to show this makes this book amazing. Melba?s book shows how she overcame her fears of going to school. When she was afraid and cried, she talked to her grandmother who she trusted. Melba?s grandmother told her, ?`You?re a warrior on the battlefield for your lord. God?s warriors don?t cry, `cause they trust that he?s always by their side?? (57). This statement, along with many more from her grandmother, allowed Melba to face down her fears of the people in and around school and go back every day. This book taught me about the ways that people can act, the courage that people are capable of having, and their ability to overcome fear. These lessons made this book truly wonderful.
touchingby Anonymous
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March 24, 2008: This book tells what people had to go through so that we could all have the same education. This book was so touching and an eye opener for the young people who think that have it hard in life....they have no idea what these people went through that we didnt have to do. All young people should read this book no matter the race. Very good book!!!!!!!
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