Originally published in 1994, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals primarily focuses on the 1957-58 school year at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, during which Beals was a member of the Little Rock Nine—the first group of Black students to attend the formerly all-white high school of 2,000 white students. Beals’s book, written for young-adult readers, speaks of her early life and her many adult accomplishments. Encouraged by school administrators and local Civil Rights leaders to downplay their experiences, the nine spoke little of the violence, threats, and humiliation they encountered every day. In her narrative, Melba recounts the dangers, the dramatic changes in her life, and the way she found the strength to persevere and complete the school year at Central. Beals wrote an update to her narrative in 2007, the 50th anniversary of her participation in the integration of Central High School. Summarized here is the Simon Pulse 2007 paperback.

Content Warning: Throughout the narrative, Melba frequently records the use of the n-word as it is spoken about or to Black citizens. This study guide obscures the use of this racial epithet. At numerous points in the narrative, there are reports of acts of violence toward Melba and other Black individuals. Chapter 2 contains Melba’s account of an attempted rape.

Summary

Born on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941, Melba underwent emergency surgery as an infant. She nearly died, however, when medical personnel disregarded orders about her aftercare because she was Black. Melba grew up with her mother, Lois, grandmother India, and brother Conrad. As an English teacher, Lois taught her children to read before school age. Melba grew up with an awareness of racial inequality.

On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court struck down school segregation. Melba recalls that teachers sent Black students home early that day, telling them to stay together in groups. Catching Melba alone, a white man enraged by the court’s decision attempted to rape her. The intervention of another student saved her. Melba requests admission to Central High, a white school, without telling her family in 1957. Melba’s family vacations in Cincinnati. While there, her family learns that Melba will be one of the students who will integrate Central.

The publication of Melba’s name creates controversy. Segregationists threaten her, and Black leaders praise her. Rumors abound, including that Governor Faubus will prevent Black students from attending. Outsiders from many states arrive, vowing to prevent integration. Faubus calls out the Arkansas National Guard, allegedly to prevent violence but actually charged with preventing Black students from entering Central. On the first day that Black students are to attend, Melba’s mother drives her as close as they can get. Walking toward the school, they see Elizabeth Eckford, another Black student, trying to get through the guardsmen. Melba and her mother retreat, running from angry segregationists; they make it to the car and back away rapidly. Once home, India shutters the house and refuses to allow Melba to go outside. India tells Melba that she is a warrior for the Lord and that warriors do not cry.

In the media, the students acquire the name the Little Rock Nine. Attorney Thurgood Marshall arrives to represent them, and a judge decides that there is no threat that justifies the guards’ presence. He decrees that the Black students will attend Central starting Monday.

On Monday, the nine entered Central from a side door. Across the street, a mob of segregationists threatens to break through police lines and attack the Black students. Inside the school, administrators separate the nine. Melba and the others experience verbal harassment and physical attacks. Realizing the police will not stop the mob, police officials gather the nine in the school’s loading docks and drive them home before noon.

On Wednesday morning, representatives of the federal government tell Melba that she will receive protection from troops of the 101st Airborne Division, as ordered by President Eisenhower. A caravan of Jeeps with machine guns escorts the nine to Central. Once there, each Black student receives a soldier as a guard. Melba’s guard, Dan, explains the limits of what he can do to protect Melba. On Friday, at the end of the pep rally, white football players accost Melba, choking her. Returning to school on Monday, Melba finds that the 101st soldiers are gone, replaced by National Guard troops. The results of this change are so chaotic that officials order the return of the 101st the following day, and Melba reunites with Dan. On one occasion, a white student throws acid in Melba’s eyes. Dan quickly rinses her eyes with water, saving her vision.

As the holidays approach, the situation inside the school deteriorates. The number of soldiers declines, and segregationists increase their attacks. The superintendent of schools summons the nine and their parents to a meeting, where he tells them not to retaliate against white violence. Lois asks how he will protect Black students, but the superintendent says it is none of her business. Civil Rights leaders also gather the students and their families to praise them for their courage.

Melba is extremely excited about her 16th birthday on December 7th, but her old friends are afraid to visit. They are at a Christmas party, and Melba isn’t invited. Segregationist boys jostle Minnijean Brown, causing her to spill her lunch on others, resulting in her suspension. Over the holiday, the nine attend a party thrown by a professional Black women’s national sorority. Christmas for Melba is a brief respite of normality. One student, Andy, violently attacks Melba twice. Seeing Melba outside the school, Andy and other boys move toward her to attack. Another boy, Link, slips Melba his car keys so she can drive away safely. Link calls her to warn her that Andy means to kill her if he gets the opportunity. On one occasion, Melba is surrounded by segregationist boys in the lunchroom. They try to instigate a fight with her. Link is among them. As the lunch period ends, Link convinces the boys to leave so they do not miss class. That evening, he calls Melba, who accuses him of being a segregationist. At length, he convinces her to trust him by telling her of potential dangers she must avoid.

As Easter approaches, segregationists try to force the nine to drop out of school before the end of the year. Link asks Melba to accompany him secretly one Saturday morning. He takes her to the home of Nana Healey, the desperately ill Black nanny who raised him. Watching Link care for her causes Melba to trust him completely.

Attempting to force Melba to drop out, administrators refuse to renew Lois’s teaching contract. Lois and India report this to journalists and request the help of local Black clergy. Thus pressured, the administration renews Lois’s contract. The remaining eight Black students complete the school year. Ernie Green, the only senior among them, becomes the first Black graduate of Central, though none of the other Black students can attend his ceremony.

Unable to stop integration, Governor Faubus shuts down all Little Rock high schools, meaning Melba must go an entire year without schooling. She relocates to California, where she graduates high school and attends college. In 1961, she marries a white soldier named John Beals, with whom she has a daughter, Kellie.

The original nine gather at Central 30 years after they first integrated. Welcoming them are Governor Bill Clinton and the student-body president, who is a young Black man.