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Racial Segregation In Melba Pattillo Beals 'Warriors Don' T Cry

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In the memoir Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals details her and the rest of the Little Rock Nines’ struggles against segregationists in their attempt to integrate Central High School. They fought through constant harassment and death threats on their journey to become the first black students to successfully complete a school year at a previously all-white school. The book highlights the effects of racial segregation while emphasizing the importance of perseverance and resilience when facing adversity. One of the major themes of the book is the effects of racial discrimination and segregation. Everything from bathrooms to water fountains were separate and black people were treated as second-class citizens. This dynamic kept white people in charge and met any form of resistance with protests and violence. The most prominent example of this in the book is when a large mob crowded around central high school to …show more content…

The second that they stepped into the school, they were peppered with racial slurs and physical abuse. Beals continuously wrote in her diary about how she did not know if she could make it and even considered suicide at one point. As the school year progressed, their protection lessened and the attacks on them began to increase. The adults in the school ignored their reports and their bodyguards often stood by watching them get attacked. However, she and the others were able to make it through with encouragement from the people around them and focusing on the end goal. They matured quickly during this time, with Beals writing, “I think only the warrior exists in me now. Melba went away to hide”(163). She heavily relied on her commitment to Christianity, writing letters to God and always trying to do the right thing. Beals and her peer’s perseverance ultimately spearheaded the integration process in the South and gained recognition

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