This is a book that is about a personal journey into one Woman’s experience growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas during the Civil Rights movement as an African American. This book was a memoir, based heavily on Melba’s diary and the notes of her English teacher ‘s mother. It all explains how the then a 15 year old girl decided to challenge Central High’s policies with 8 other students during the Civil Rights Movement. The book gets dark, depressing to relive the process of what human nature can do and come from. One instance Melba remembers when she was a little girl walking downtown with her Mom holding her hand tightly. She says: “If white adults were accompanied by children, those kids scowled or stuck their tongues out at us. Even worse, they’d sometimes say”, “Mama, look at that there nigger.” (Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba.Beals Page 16).
Her stories are about courage, belief, conviction, and action for what she believes and how this time tested and defined her character. It is extremely heartfelt with both negative and positive situations that at times made me desperately to just want to stop reading because of the hate and how humanity can be so “Gross”. Points it challenged me and I really wanted to stop thinking about it as it challenged my way of understanding our historical past regarding African Americans. I did not realize they were treated so poorly in such modern cities, more that this kind of thing went on in other areas in small amounts. Often, I hoped things of this nature were embellished in movies to draw more talk. I was surprised I had never heard about Melba and the 9 classmates before this class. I have heard of Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriot Tubman and many others.
Melba puts her life on the line to be one of the first of the first nine African Americans to attend an all-white high school. Jim Crow laws just 60+ years ago were the actual reality of our U.S History. “The United States in the 1950s was still a segregated, unequal society. Half of the nation’s black families lived in poverty. Because of labor contracts that linked promotions and firings to seniority, non-white workers, who had joined the industrial labor force later than whites, lost their jobs first in times of economic downturn. In the South, evidence of Jim Crow abounded—in separate public institutions and the signs “white” and “colored” at entrances to buildings, train carriages, drinking fountains, restrooms,’and the like.” (Foner, Give Me Liberty!)
Melba also continued to attend school when other classmates threatened, assaulted, harassed and ostracized her. Undoubtedly, she was ‘ all in ‘ with the civil rights movement and was willing to risk her life to see a successful movement. Minnijean Brown, Melba’s special friend is perhaps the most active character in the fight against segregation. Beals white classmates, classmate white parents, and the city of Little Rock along with Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus would not open their minds to these ladies plight and rather chose to uphold their Jim Crow law values and promoted hate. I often wonder, if born into that environment with that time, with no education to critically think, if I could be these people. I think we can all be the bad in the world if we cannot open our minds and then our hearts.
The same school Melba fought for Civil Rights was the same in our textbook. “ In 1957, however, after Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas used the National Guard to prevent the court-ordered integration of Little Rock’s Central High School, Eisenhower dispatched federal troops to the city. In the face of a howling mob, soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division escorted” (Foner, Give Me Liberty!)
It showed me how easily our societies even today are manipulated by others critical thinking of us, yet, it also showed me how small our thinking can be in humanity and challenged me to remember why I hold to my belief system and re-check my value system. Change causes our humanity great fear when we don’t follow current norms or certain norms are being broken when people want them to remain. How human nature is to cling so to speak to certain ideas and when this is good or bad of us. When we should be willing to let change happen for the good of all of us and not use hate and violence. Yet, life is not always peaceful because so many are not willing to have peace.
