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Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
In this essential autobiographical account by one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most powerful figures, Melba Pattillo Beals of the Little Rock Nine explores not only the oppressive force of racism, but the ability of young people to change ideas of race and identity.
In 1957, well before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Melba Pattillo Beals and eight other teenagers became iconic symbols for the Civil Rights Movement and the dismantling of Jim Crow in the American South as they integrated Little Rock’s Central High School in the wake of the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education.
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.
In 1957, well before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Melba Pattillo Beals and eight other teenagers became iconic symbols for the Civil Rights Movement and the dismantling of Jim Crow in the American South as they integrated Little Rock’s Central High School in the wake of the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education.
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.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
Melba Pattillo Beals
10 books94 followersMelba Pattillo Beals made history as a member of the Little Rock Nine, the nine African-American students involved in the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The world watched as they braved constant intimidation and threats from those who opposed desegregation of the formerly all-white high school. She later recounted this harrowing year in her book titled Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Desegregate Little Rock’s Central High School.
Melba Pattillo was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Beals grew up surrounded by family members who knew the importance of an education. Her mother, Lois Marie Pattillo, PhD, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1954 and was a high school English teacher at the time of the crisis. Her father, Howell Pattillo, worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. She had one brother, Conrad, who served as a U.S. marshal in Little Rock, and they all lived with her grandmother, India Peyton.
While attending all-black Horace Mann High School in Little Rock, she knew her educational opportunities were not equal to her white counterparts’ opportunities at Central High. In response to this inequality, Pattillo volunteered to transfer to the all-white Central High School with eight other black students from Horace Mann and Dunbar Junior High School. The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be known, faced daily harassment from white students. Beals later recounted that the soldier assigned to protect her instructed her, “In order to get through this year, you will have to become a soldier. Never let your enemy know what you are feeling.” Beals took the soldier’s advice, and, while the rest of the school year remained turbulent, all but one student, Minnijean Brown, was able to finish the school year. Barred from entering Central High the next year when the city’s schools were closed, Pattillo moved to Santa Rosa, California, to live with a sponsoring family who were members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for her senior year of high school.
In 1961, Pattillo married John Beals. They had one daughter but divorced after ten years of marriage. She subsequently adopted two boys.
Beals graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in journalism and earned an MA in the same field from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. She has worked as a communications consultant, a motivational speaker, and as a reporter for San Francisco’s public television station and for the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate.
Beals was the first of the Little Rock Nine to write a book based on her experiences at Central High. Published in 1994, Warriors Don’t Cry gives a first-hand account of the trials Beals encountered from segregationists and racist students. The book was named the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book for 1995 and won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award that same year. White is a State of Mind, her 1999 sequel to Warriors Don’t Cry, follows Beals from her senior year in high school to her college and family days in California.
Beals was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1958, along with other members of the Little Rock Nine and Daisy Bates, their mentor. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the nation’s highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, to the members of the Little Rock Nine. As of 2010, Beals lives in the San Francisco area and works as an author and public speaker.
Melba Pattillo was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock (Pulaski County). Beals grew up surrounded by family members who knew the importance of an education. Her mother, Lois Marie Pattillo, PhD, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1954 and was a high school English teacher at the time of the crisis. Her father, Howell Pattillo, worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. She had one brother, Conrad, who served as a U.S. marshal in Little Rock, and they all lived with her grandmother, India Peyton.
While attending all-black Horace Mann High School in Little Rock, she knew her educational opportunities were not equal to her white counterparts’ opportunities at Central High. In response to this inequality, Pattillo volunteered to transfer to the all-white Central High School with eight other black students from Horace Mann and Dunbar Junior High School. The Little Rock Nine, as they came to be known, faced daily harassment from white students. Beals later recounted that the soldier assigned to protect her instructed her, “In order to get through this year, you will have to become a soldier. Never let your enemy know what you are feeling.” Beals took the soldier’s advice, and, while the rest of the school year remained turbulent, all but one student, Minnijean Brown, was able to finish the school year. Barred from entering Central High the next year when the city’s schools were closed, Pattillo moved to Santa Rosa, California, to live with a sponsoring family who were members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for her senior year of high school.
In 1961, Pattillo married John Beals. They had one daughter but divorced after ten years of marriage. She subsequently adopted two boys.
Beals graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in journalism and earned an MA in the same field from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York. She has worked as a communications consultant, a motivational speaker, and as a reporter for San Francisco’s public television station and for the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate.
Beals was the first of the Little Rock Nine to write a book based on her experiences at Central High. Published in 1994, Warriors Don’t Cry gives a first-hand account of the trials Beals encountered from segregationists and racist students. The book was named the American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book for 1995 and won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award that same year. White is a State of Mind, her 1999 sequel to Warriors Don’t Cry, follows Beals from her senior year in high school to her college and family days in California.
Beals was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1958, along with other members of the Little Rock Nine and Daisy Bates, their mentor. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the nation’s highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, to the members of the Little Rock Nine. As of 2010, Beals lives in the San Francisco area and works as an author and public speaker.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,929 reviews
May 27, 2013
This book was assigned reading for my son and I picked it up when he finished. Melba Patillo Beals was one of the students chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School in 1957. The amount of courage that she and the other students exhibited is incredible.
Melba was threatened, taunted, and even had acid sprayed in her eyes. I read this book with tears in my own eyes, ashamed at this part of our country's history. It also made me question whether I would have had the courage, especially as a teenager, to endure what Melba and the other African-American students did. If I'm completely honest, the answer to that question is a resounding NO.
Kudos to schools who assign this book and unflinchingly explore this uncomfortable topic. It can only make us better people to remember.
Melba was threatened, taunted, and even had acid sprayed in her eyes. I read this book with tears in my own eyes, ashamed at this part of our country's history. It also made me question whether I would have had the courage, especially as a teenager, to endure what Melba and the other African-American students did. If I'm completely honest, the answer to that question is a resounding NO.
Kudos to schools who assign this book and unflinchingly explore this uncomfortable topic. It can only make us better people to remember.
November 13, 2021
Powerful and moving memoir recounting the bravery of the first 9 Black students who attended Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas. It was infuriating to read of the abuse they experienced every single day for a whole school year. I appreciated how her faith was a big part of what gave her the strength to endure such horrible circumstances. I also appreciated her reflections at the end and how she grew and learned to view that year in her life. What an important read.
October 3, 2019
I loved this story!
The amount of bravery exuded from such a young lady is quite remarkable.
I've read other reviewers upset with Beals for including so much of her religious belief in this story but I believe it was necessary to humanize her. The stories told in this memoir were truly shocking and I felt for young Melba in a very special way. She is truly a hero in my eyes. A highly recommended read!
BTW, there was a movie made about Ernest Green's year in Central High that I would highly recommend to supplement this book.
The amount of bravery exuded from such a young lady is quite remarkable.
I've read other reviewers upset with Beals for including so much of her religious belief in this story but I believe it was necessary to humanize her. The stories told in this memoir were truly shocking and I felt for young Melba in a very special way. She is truly a hero in my eyes. A highly recommended read!
BTW, there was a movie made about Ernest Green's year in Central High that I would highly recommend to supplement this book.
November 2, 2020
UPDATE: My teacher said that I could write a letter to Melba Patillo Beals!!! I'm gonna do it with another one of my classmates!
This was such a moving book, I don't think I could ever put in words how much of an impact this book had on me. Melba's bravery and resilience are both so inspiring, I would love to talk with her about this and so much more. So far, this has been my favorite book to read for school. I'm actually going to try to get in contact with Ms. Beals because I need to know what happened to the characters, especially Link. I did ship them, but I understand that she didn't like him that way. I really, really recommend reading this book, it will surely have a huge impact on you.
This was such a moving book, I don't think I could ever put in words how much of an impact this book had on me. Melba's bravery and resilience are both so inspiring, I would love to talk with her about this and so much more. So far, this has been my favorite book to read for school. I'm actually going to try to get in contact with Ms. Beals because I need to know what happened to the characters, especially Link. I did ship them, but I understand that she didn't like him that way. I really, really recommend reading this book, it will surely have a huge impact on you.
January 19, 2021
I got this book from my school's book fair when I was in 5th grade.
Melba Pattillo Beals is a true American hero. At the tender age of 15 she and 8 other heroic African American teens integrated Little Rock, Arkansas' Central High School. Warriors Dont Cry is the Young Readers Edition of that time in her life.
Even though this is a children's book, Melba's story is still a brutal read. The abuse she and the other students and their families experienced was shocking but not surprising.
These kids were much stronger then I will ever be. I can not imagine dealing with the constant abuse from parents, teachers, politicians, law enforcement and the Klan. I'm glad these people sacrificed so that my parents, me and everyone who came after them would have it a little easier.
More proof of Black people saving America as usual.
A must read!
Melba Pattillo Beals is a true American hero. At the tender age of 15 she and 8 other heroic African American teens integrated Little Rock, Arkansas' Central High School. Warriors Dont Cry is the Young Readers Edition of that time in her life.
Even though this is a children's book, Melba's story is still a brutal read. The abuse she and the other students and their families experienced was shocking but not surprising.
These kids were much stronger then I will ever be. I can not imagine dealing with the constant abuse from parents, teachers, politicians, law enforcement and the Klan. I'm glad these people sacrificed so that my parents, me and everyone who came after them would have it a little easier.
More proof of Black people saving America as usual.
A must read!
September 16, 2018
This is a powerful memoir about one girl's experience during a year of forced integration in Little Rock, Arkansas. I've been reading some of the cases in law school but it is a different thing to hear it from a 15 year old's perspective.
Whether or not you agree with the politics, I think this makes for an interesting, thought-provoking read. (Also, I found it so absorbing I had to remind myself that this was Real Life and not fiction so I couldn't be disappointed when my ship died. But dang, Liam - sp? - was adorbs.)
Whether or not you agree with the politics, I think this makes for an interesting, thought-provoking read. (Also, I found it so absorbing I had to remind myself that this was Real Life and not fiction so I couldn't be disappointed when my ship died. But dang, Liam - sp? - was adorbs.)
July 10, 2008
Truly shocking.
I couldn't believe all the misery that those kids went through, trying to be the first to integrate Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. I had always just assumed that once they got inside the school, everything was hunky dory. Not at all. A typical day for Beals involved getting kicked down the stairs, sprayed in the eyes, repeatedly called names, shoved, jabbed, mocked, etc. by other students while teachers turned a blind eye. I don't know how she did it. There were several times in the book that I honestly thought she should give up because it was too dangerous to continue. I cannot believe she did not become severely depressed and psychologically traumatized from all the abuse.
I also did not know that Gov. Faubus CLOSED all the high schools the following year to prevent further integration. If I were Beals I would have been relieved that I didn't have to go to that place of torment anymore, but it was also a way of taking away the victory that the students scored by lasting the entire first year. My aunt and uncle lived briefly in Little Rock and just moved from there last year. It sounds as though racial tensions are still quite high there, fifty years later. When they sold their house, neighbors told them not to sell it to any black people because they didn't want them in the (currently) all-white neighborhood.
I couldn't believe all the misery that those kids went through, trying to be the first to integrate Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. I had always just assumed that once they got inside the school, everything was hunky dory. Not at all. A typical day for Beals involved getting kicked down the stairs, sprayed in the eyes, repeatedly called names, shoved, jabbed, mocked, etc. by other students while teachers turned a blind eye. I don't know how she did it. There were several times in the book that I honestly thought she should give up because it was too dangerous to continue. I cannot believe she did not become severely depressed and psychologically traumatized from all the abuse.
I also did not know that Gov. Faubus CLOSED all the high schools the following year to prevent further integration. If I were Beals I would have been relieved that I didn't have to go to that place of torment anymore, but it was also a way of taking away the victory that the students scored by lasting the entire first year. My aunt and uncle lived briefly in Little Rock and just moved from there last year. It sounds as though racial tensions are still quite high there, fifty years later. When they sold their house, neighbors told them not to sell it to any black people because they didn't want them in the (currently) all-white neighborhood.
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May 13, 2008That when the WHY is big enough, we can overcome ANY..HOW
July 9, 2014
I absolutely LOVED this book! The bravery of the Little Rock nine was an inspiration to me. I had no idea the extent of suffering these kids went through. They are true heroes!
February 6, 2013
A book club book. I don't usually read books that involve cruelty and violence because I obsess over the images they bring into my head until it keeps me awake at night. I need my sleep. Because of that, I admit to skimming this instead of reading every word. Although the story she tells is one that should be remembered and not forgotten, this is not actually a very good book. At the end she mentions that she became a journalist, and that is how this book is written: as a very long news article. She could have done a lot more with the characters in the story: with her mother, grandmother, brother, Danny, Minnijean, or the other kids at the school with her. Everyone was flat.
She also glosses over a lot of the violence and things that were done to her (which is good for me) and just includes summary sentences: the taunts and rage increased, for example. I suppose this could be because there was so much of it every day. She mentions only briefly that a couple of students (excepting the bit about Link) were more friendly, but never went into it: was it just a one time occurrence? Or was there anyone else who was consistently helpful? She says near the beginning that the shorthand teacher provided an 'oasis' of calm, but then later says she had to drop the class because the harassment was so bad. What happened in between there?
Again, I admit that I didn't read the whole book word for word - I skimmed each page. It's an important story, but the way it is told could have been better.
She also glosses over a lot of the violence and things that were done to her (which is good for me) and just includes summary sentences: the taunts and rage increased, for example. I suppose this could be because there was so much of it every day. She mentions only briefly that a couple of students (excepting the bit about Link) were more friendly, but never went into it: was it just a one time occurrence? Or was there anyone else who was consistently helpful? She says near the beginning that the shorthand teacher provided an 'oasis' of calm, but then later says she had to drop the class because the harassment was so bad. What happened in between there?
Again, I admit that I didn't read the whole book word for word - I skimmed each page. It's an important story, but the way it is told could have been better.
May 20, 2017
Wow, this book was stupid. Don't get me wrong, the story is incredible and filled with so much bravery, but the actual book, yeah that was stupid as hell. She wouldn't stop talking about God which made me uncomfortable and roll my eyes. But the concept that the strongest, most brave heroes around don't cry is absolutely absurd. Cry all the fuck you want, it's your body's natural reaction, but getting up and knowing where to stop crying, that is true strength and bravery.
October 11, 2016
Devastating. It's terrifying to read about huge numbers of adults and children so completely abandoning empathy and common decency, even in a media spotlight and under judicial pressure. They were so committed to their hate. We have so much to atone for, even as we continue to offend. The author's courage in the face of all the abuse is mind-boggling.
February 26, 2017
This is a must read for everyone!
September 19, 2017
In this book, Melba is chosen to integrate Central High School. She faces many hardships there because of her race. Melba is forced to be extremely brave and courageous as she pushes through her situation.
I thought that this book was okay, certain parts were better than others. I liked the idea of sharing this story through the form of a book, but after a while it felt very repetitive. I noticed that sometimes it would bring up an interesting topic, and then it would never go deeper into it. I liked the story, but I wish it was written better and in greater detail. I would recommend this book if you are interested in the topic, but otherwise this book might not be for you. It was really a good story, and I really wish it had slowed down a little more often and explained things in better detail.
I thought that this book was okay, certain parts were better than others. I liked the idea of sharing this story through the form of a book, but after a while it felt very repetitive. I noticed that sometimes it would bring up an interesting topic, and then it would never go deeper into it. I liked the story, but I wish it was written better and in greater detail. I would recommend this book if you are interested in the topic, but otherwise this book might not be for you. It was really a good story, and I really wish it had slowed down a little more often and explained things in better detail.
May 13, 2016
Imagine being a young teenager, trying to go to school while each day your classmates threaten and beat you, the administration ignores you and a mob of adults gathers at the school entrance, screaming for your death. The fact is, we can't imagine it. Only a handful of people can, and they were the first black students to integrate all-white schools in the segregationist American South.
Beals's account of her first day at Central High School is one of the most intense scenes I've encountered in a book, and I read some pretty intense things.
This riveting book would be a great choice for a YA book group or a high school civics/government class.
Beals's account of her first day at Central High School is one of the most intense scenes I've encountered in a book, and I read some pretty intense things.
This riveting book would be a great choice for a YA book group or a high school civics/government class.
July 12, 2018
I am a historian by academic training, yet I knew precious little about this story. I'd heard of The Little Rock Nine and seen the famous photo of them marching in to Central High. But that's about it.
I was blissfully naive about the intensity and extensive length of time these children were bullied by kids and adults alike. I had no idea the governor and state troopers were so awful. Melba's story gives insight into both the high level and daily horrors they faced.
I highly recommend this book to both adults and teens. The themes are frighteningly apt for today. Sad but true.
I was blissfully naive about the intensity and extensive length of time these children were bullied by kids and adults alike. I had no idea the governor and state troopers were so awful. Melba's story gives insight into both the high level and daily horrors they faced.
I highly recommend this book to both adults and teens. The themes are frighteningly apt for today. Sad but true.
June 3, 2023
If you have studied American history in any real capacity, you have seen this famous photograph. It captures a moment during the desegregation of schools after the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board. In it, Elizabeth Eckford, a Black teenager, walks in sunglasses and a dress while holding school papers to her chest. Behind her and surrounding her, white people are screaming and sneering at her. Just as Norman Rockwell’s famous painting captures a moment in which Ruby Bridges was the sole Black child selected to desegregate a previously all-white elementary school in Louisiana, the photograph of Elizabeth Eckford represents the nine Black students in Arkansas, known as the Little Rock Nine, who were selected to desegregate Central High.
The photograph is especially poignant because of the expression, or lack thereof, on Elizabeth Eckford’s face. I’ve always marveled at the difference between her calm, dignified, composure that must have come from such deep fear and the agitated, hateful faces around her. In viewing the photograph I’ve always felt very conscious of being an observer. I had seen images like the photograph of Eckford but I had not previously known what happened to these poor kids once inside the school, away from cameras.
Part of the beauty of the book Warriors Don’t Cry is that the reader views the same scene captured in the photograph, but from the point of view of author Melba Pattillo Beals, another of the Little Rock Nine. Beals watches her friend Elizabeth Eckford being hounded by this swarm of vile people and blocked by Governor Faubus’s men from entering the school as she herself is attacked and chased.
At only 225 pages, this book is one scene after another like this. It’s exhausting and sickening, but it has to be to get even an iota of the feelings of dread and fear felt by Beals day after day just trying to go to school. This is a one-of-kind book. Beals has shared so much trauma in these pages, and you know she does it as the warrior her grandmother India helped her realize she could be. The moments of peace were few and far between and therefore even more sacred when Beals was at home with her loving and brilliant family. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, in civil rights, or in current affairs. It would be a fast read had it not been such a difficult read, but it should be read simply for the fact that it was written.
Edit: I’m docking this a star bc it’s abridged? Why doesn’t it say that on the cover.
The photograph is especially poignant because of the expression, or lack thereof, on Elizabeth Eckford’s face. I’ve always marveled at the difference between her calm, dignified, composure that must have come from such deep fear and the agitated, hateful faces around her. In viewing the photograph I’ve always felt very conscious of being an observer. I had seen images like the photograph of Eckford but I had not previously known what happened to these poor kids once inside the school, away from cameras.
Part of the beauty of the book Warriors Don’t Cry is that the reader views the same scene captured in the photograph, but from the point of view of author Melba Pattillo Beals, another of the Little Rock Nine. Beals watches her friend Elizabeth Eckford being hounded by this swarm of vile people and blocked by Governor Faubus’s men from entering the school as she herself is attacked and chased.
At only 225 pages, this book is one scene after another like this. It’s exhausting and sickening, but it has to be to get even an iota of the feelings of dread and fear felt by Beals day after day just trying to go to school. This is a one-of-kind book. Beals has shared so much trauma in these pages, and you know she does it as the warrior her grandmother India helped her realize she could be. The moments of peace were few and far between and therefore even more sacred when Beals was at home with her loving and brilliant family. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, in civil rights, or in current affairs. It would be a fast read had it not been such a difficult read, but it should be read simply for the fact that it was written.
Edit: I’m docking this a star bc it’s abridged? Why doesn’t it say that on the cover.
March 13, 2018
I really did like this book because Melba is such a powerful black woman. Melba tells her story how she goes to a school of white racist people who harassed her for her skin color. Melba struggles a lot and is harassed by everyone. I got so angry at everyone for treating her like this because she's a human being. How Melba's grandmother tells her to stop crying because warriors don't cry made me smile. My mom would say the same thing to me and how strong Melba is amazing. Melba goes through so much through her life and loses her childhood innocence at such a young age. Melba really is strong independent woman who achieved so much at young age and stood for civil rights. I admire her a lot for her courage and strength.
January 24, 2019
This book was very powerful. I had no idea what it was like for the Little Rock 9 to actually do the incredibly hard work to integrate Central High School. This book made me hurt inside for these teenagers.
October 28, 2021
I can't believe until a few days ago, I had never heard of this book. Melba Patillo was one of the "Little Rock 9" who started the slow and painful process of integrating Central High School and this was her memoir - using newspaper clippings and her own diary to piece together this story.
In AP US History I had briefly learned about how President Eisenhower had to send in federal troops when the governor of Arkansas refused to follow through with federal court orders to integrate Central High School, but it was basically glossed over. It was portrayed almost matter-of-factly, as in, one day, the school wasn't integrated and then bam! Integration! Everything is wonderful and harmonious.
It wasn't. Melba and eight other brave Black high school students endured the most incredible and shocking abuse, both at the hands of other students and the teachers/administrators that let it continue. For an entire school year, students repeatedly kicked her, punched her, spat on her, sprayed acid in her face, submerged her in boiling hot water in the gym class, threw flaming paper at her in the bathroom. And yet, Melba endured. I could feel the shame, anxiety and stress coursing through her body. It is unimaginable to me that this occurred in my father's lifetime (Melba is one year younger than my dad). It is unimaginable that other human beings could treat another human being like this.
This book was painful to read, but it should be required reading in high school. Full stop.
In AP US History I had briefly learned about how President Eisenhower had to send in federal troops when the governor of Arkansas refused to follow through with federal court orders to integrate Central High School, but it was basically glossed over. It was portrayed almost matter-of-factly, as in, one day, the school wasn't integrated and then bam! Integration! Everything is wonderful and harmonious.
It wasn't. Melba and eight other brave Black high school students endured the most incredible and shocking abuse, both at the hands of other students and the teachers/administrators that let it continue. For an entire school year, students repeatedly kicked her, punched her, spat on her, sprayed acid in her face, submerged her in boiling hot water in the gym class, threw flaming paper at her in the bathroom. And yet, Melba endured. I could feel the shame, anxiety and stress coursing through her body. It is unimaginable to me that this occurred in my father's lifetime (Melba is one year younger than my dad). It is unimaginable that other human beings could treat another human being like this.
This book was painful to read, but it should be required reading in high school. Full stop.
September 27, 2025
As much as I hate doing this to people who are writing memoirs about the worst thing they’ve ever experienced… you’d think for a journalist she would have been better at writing :/
December 13, 2013
An innocent teenager.
An unexpected hero.
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.
Melba Patillo Beals, who as a teenager in 1957 became a key player in a critical civil rights struggle, has abridged for young readers her affecting adult title Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Teaching Ideas: This is a great book to introduce middle or high school students to a unit based around the Civil Rights. It could be used in an ELA classroom or a history classroom. This is also a great book for teaching figurative language, both in analyzing it as a reader and using it as a model as a writer.
An unexpected hero.
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.
Melba Patillo Beals, who as a teenager in 1957 became a key player in a critical civil rights struggle, has abridged for young readers her affecting adult title Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High School.
Teaching Ideas: This is a great book to introduce middle or high school students to a unit based around the Civil Rights. It could be used in an ELA classroom or a history classroom. This is also a great book for teaching figurative language, both in analyzing it as a reader and using it as a model as a writer.
August 31, 2009
This is a great introduction for kids to the school integration part of the civil rights movement. I love how Beals allows us into her teenage world in a way that seems both honest and genuine. We get a view of both her headline-making efforts to integrate Central High and her personal world of a normal teenager (crushes, drama with friends, clashes with family, etc.).
It's literally impossible for me to imagine what it would be like to go to school under these conditions. The name "warrior" seems completely justified. This book makes me both ashamed and fiercely proud to be American.
You should read this book if you like to read about triumph over obstacles.
I know I would have buckled under the pressure if I had been in Melba's shoes. I wish I could ask the author how she managed to not hate White people for life after something like this.
I would love to know more about which, if any, of the Little Rock Nine's tormentors ever publicly atoned for the atrocities they committed against their fellow Americans. That takes courage, too.
It's literally impossible for me to imagine what it would be like to go to school under these conditions. The name "warrior" seems completely justified. This book makes me both ashamed and fiercely proud to be American.
You should read this book if you like to read about triumph over obstacles.
I know I would have buckled under the pressure if I had been in Melba's shoes. I wish I could ask the author how she managed to not hate White people for life after something like this.
I would love to know more about which, if any, of the Little Rock Nine's tormentors ever publicly atoned for the atrocities they committed against their fellow Americans. That takes courage, too.
December 28, 2016
This book is hard to rate. The courage and strength of these 9 teenagers is remarkable; it is unimaginable. The hatred they faced every day is shocking. It is sickening that people could ever feel and act that way and feel justified within it, though there are still plenty of people who feel and act with so much hatred in the world.
But I felt Patillo did not trust her experience to carry without over-sensationalizing it, making it melodramatic in multiple instances. Maybe this comes of the journalist writing style, which I struggle with. Also, it felt she tried to tell Too Much covering it in a broad day-by-day in some places and thus left us with only a vague understanding of the horrors she and her friends endured instead of focusing down. Of course, part of that could be not wanting to have to relive it, of telling it in a removed way in order to be removed from it herself.
So it is hard to rate this as a book.
But I felt Patillo did not trust her experience to carry without over-sensationalizing it, making it melodramatic in multiple instances. Maybe this comes of the journalist writing style, which I struggle with. Also, it felt she tried to tell Too Much covering it in a broad day-by-day in some places and thus left us with only a vague understanding of the horrors she and her friends endured instead of focusing down. Of course, part of that could be not wanting to have to relive it, of telling it in a removed way in order to be removed from it herself.
So it is hard to rate this as a book.
November 25, 2008
Melba Patillo beals really does an excellent job of making you feel and vision what the little rock nine experienced. Through all those times they were being mistreated and abused in every possible way due to the complexion of their skin, they never gave up. Ofcourse at times they felt that the conditions were too overwhelming but they never thought that what they were doing was a complete waste and that it wasn't worth it. Yes, integrating Central High would be an impediment. But they were willing to face it.
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September 14, 2020I don't know if I can rate such a personal story but this book did wonders for my persona learning experience, although much of it was not easy to read about.
Trigger Warnings: Racism, harassment, physical assault, attempted rape, ostracization, mobs, threats, shooting, slurs against indigenous Americans, bullying, mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of illness and death of a nanny and death of of a grandmother
Trigger Warnings: Racism, harassment, physical assault, attempted rape, ostracization, mobs, threats, shooting, slurs against indigenous Americans, bullying, mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of illness and death of a nanny and death of of a grandmother
March 29, 2019
Heart-wrenching. Moving. Important. May we never take for granted the sacrifice of countless people in the quest for civil and human rights.
June 2, 2025
Idk what my personal convictions on hell are, but if such a thing does exist, there is a special place for segregationists who torture school children, especially the ones described in this memoir.
Picked this up after visiting Little Rock Central High School on a road trip. This book should be assigned in every U.S. History course. Melba Beals, one of the nine students who integrated LRCHS, relates her experiences during the year of integration where she and her friends were physically abused and threatened by fellow students and segregationists. She does a fantastic job of referencing her own diary she kept during that time, as well as various newspaper headlines that chronicled the year-long “Little Rock Crisis.” It’s genuinely a miracle that those students made it out of the school year alive.
This is a very, very difficult book to read. My heart broke for Melba, who really just wanted a normal 16-yo high school life and instead had to constantly worry about her and her family’s safety. I knew things were bad, but I didn’t realize the extent of the violence that happened in the school until I read this first-hand account. I wish there were more resources about this event, and I’m very glad that Melba was brave enough not only to find the strength to go back to that terrible school each day, but also to record what really happened during a shameful time in our history.
Picked this up after visiting Little Rock Central High School on a road trip. This book should be assigned in every U.S. History course. Melba Beals, one of the nine students who integrated LRCHS, relates her experiences during the year of integration where she and her friends were physically abused and threatened by fellow students and segregationists. She does a fantastic job of referencing her own diary she kept during that time, as well as various newspaper headlines that chronicled the year-long “Little Rock Crisis.” It’s genuinely a miracle that those students made it out of the school year alive.
This is a very, very difficult book to read. My heart broke for Melba, who really just wanted a normal 16-yo high school life and instead had to constantly worry about her and her family’s safety. I knew things were bad, but I didn’t realize the extent of the violence that happened in the school until I read this first-hand account. I wish there were more resources about this event, and I’m very glad that Melba was brave enough not only to find the strength to go back to that terrible school each day, but also to record what really happened during a shameful time in our history.
June 2, 2023
Wow. I will be raving about this book and telling everyone to read it for a long time!! The history is important and good reason to read it, but even more than that, this is an important character and spiritual book. Grandma India knew the Lord and she knew how to be the bigger person. She taught Melba that if she relied on her own strength she would always fail. Her strength had to come from God. She never allowed wallowing or pity parties and always seemed to know what to say to help Melba see how feeling sorry for herself wasn’t worth it. Some of it is definitely hard to read but so important. I think I’ll probably read it aloud to my 4 kids this coming school year (my youngest will be in 7th grade).
Content considerations for younger kids: the N word is used very frequently (because the white kids used it all the time), and there is a part where Melba is 10 or 11 I think and a white man tries to rape her.
Content considerations for younger kids: the N word is used very frequently (because the white kids used it all the time), and there is a part where Melba is 10 or 11 I think and a white man tries to rape her.
October 13, 2020
Although I've read about the Little Rock Nine before, I don't think I've ever read a book written by one of them telling their first-hand experiences. WARRIORS DON'T CRY does this in a way that is honest, approachable, moving, and thought-provoking. Beals' narration, which includes newspaper clippings and her own diary entries, is intimate and very personal. My heart ached for her as I read about how she was yelled at, spit upon, beaten, set on fire, and made to suffer every kind of indignity—from both kids and adults—simply because of the color of her skin. It's incredible that she and the other integrators made it out of Central High alive. I appreciated hearing about the tools that strengthened her through it all, namely her family and her faith. Although WARRIORS DON'T CRY is not an easy book to read, it's important, timely, and informative. I'm glad I read it.
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