Warriors Don't Cry
by Melba Pattillo Beals
This is the story told by one of the Little Rock Nine who fought to integrate Arkansas' Central High School in the 1950s. Based on newspaper clippings, Melba's diary and her memory, this book recounts the horrors that the nine teens faced on a daily basis just to get their education.
Some of things that were said and done to these kids will make your stomach turn. All the while, I couldn't help wondering what kind of person I would have been had I grown up during that time and in the South... Would I have had compassion for these kids as I do now? Or would I have had the same deep-rooted hatred that brewed in these southern segregationists... Would I have been able to stand up to the abuse? And then as a teacher- would I have let these kids be verbally and physically abused IN my classroom; in front of my eyes? School is supposed to be a safe place...
I have a lot of respect for these men and women who put their lives in danger to stand up for what they deserved. I wish my students now (who often take education for granted) could understand what these teens went through to get their education. They endured so much more than I can imagine and I'm glad we've come a long way since.
Some of things that were said and done to these kids will make your stomach turn. All the while, I couldn't help wondering what kind of person I would have been had I grown up during that time and in the South... Would I have had compassion for these kids as I do now? Or would I have had the same deep-rooted hatred that brewed in these southern segregationists... Would I have been able to stand up to the abuse? And then as a teacher- would I have let these kids be verbally and physically abused IN my classroom; in front of my eyes? School is supposed to be a safe place...
I have a lot of respect for these men and women who put their lives in danger to stand up for what they deserved. I wish my students now (who often take education for granted) could understand what these teens went through to get their education. They endured so much more than I can imagine and I'm glad we've come a long way since.
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