Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means, The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read. I had relished so many dreams of how sweet my sixteenth year would be, and now it had arrived, but I was here in this place. The reporters began snickering as they posed a series of questions on turkeys and integration, calling on me by name to answer. "You'll make this your last cry. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Plot Summary of “Warriors Don't Cry” by Melba Pattillo Beals. —Melba Pattillo Beals” ― Melba Pattillo Beals, Warriors Don't Cry I continue to be a warrior who does not cry but who instead takes action. . Finally she said, “Later, you’ll be grateful for the courage it built inside you and for the blessing it will bring.” Grateful, I thought. God’s warriors don’t cry, ‘cause they trust that he’s always by their side. Below you will find the important quotes in Warriors Don’t Cry related to the theme of Racism and Living Under Jim Crow. But once again I had to accept the fact that I shouldn’t be wasting my time or energy hoping anyone would listen to my reports. Kicked in the shin, tripped on the marble floor—assess the damage and do whatever is necessary to remain mobile. 11. This is going to work. I was feeling more and more vulnerable as I watched them continually struggle to solve the mystery of what white folks expected of them. “Thanks for the compliment,” I said, looking at him with the pleasantest expression I could muster so he would believe I wasn’t annoyed. Her trip to Cincinnati to visit her Uncle Clancey and Aunt Julie shows her that it is possible for black and white people to co-exist peacefully. Grandma said it would be healing to write and destroy all the names of people I disliked at Central High: teachers, students, anyone who I thought had wronged me […]. Please don’t just read these quotes. Facing History and Ourselves has published a study guide to accompany this book. In Cincinnati, on the other hand, Melba comes to believe that not all white people are as hateful as those whom she encounters in Little Rock. “Until I am welcomed everywhere as an equal simply because I am human, I remain a warrior on a battlefield that I must not leave. I couldn’t hear anything except for the sound of my saddle shoes pounding the ground and the thud of his feet close behind me. In Warriors Don't Cry, faith is an important theme, as Melba's faith gives her strength to face the challenges Central High School's students throw at her. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. I knew she was agonizing over the consequences of my frivolity. My heart was racing almost as fast as my feet. Warriors Don’t Cry Melba Pattillo Beals Brad Price C-BLOCK Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 Word Count (Excluding Quotes): 973 QUOTE #1 “When my teacher asked if anyone who lived within the Central High School district wanted to attend school with white people, I raised my hand. Later in The New York Times, Sammy Dean Parker and Kaye Bacon said that as a result of the meeting they now had a new attitude. You're a warrior on the battlefield for your Lord. While at Central High School, Melba suffers a range of abuses. Melba’s experiences with segregation are sometimes life-threatening. Warriors Don’t Cry is her autobiographical account of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. They treated me like an equal, like I belonged with them.”, “You’ve gotta learn to defend yourself. This here is a battle if I’ve ever seen one.”, “Please, God let me learn how to stop being a warrior. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Never. Thank you, Danny. Explore our collection of motivational and famous quotes by authors you know and love. By the time Melba, the author of Warriors Don’t Cry, is four years old, she becomes aware of this system of segregation and begins to ask her mother, Lois, and grandmother, India, why white people write “Colored” on “the ugly drinking fountains, the dingy restrooms, and the back of buses.” She also notices that black people seem to live in a state of “constant fear and apprehension,” and highlights the “shame” she feels when she watches members of her family “kowtow to white people.” Melba learns early on that white people are in charge and, even after she agrees to help integrate Central High School, fears that the system might never change. I hadn’t meant to put my foot in my mouth. And yet lots of discussions in my household were about how to cross that line, when to cross that line, and who could cross that line without getting hurt.”, “My mother was one of the first few blacks to integrate the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1954. “Niggers are stupid, they gotta study real hard, don’t they?” he said in a loud voice. He seemed astonished as he slowly started to back away. Warriors Don’t Cry Review I thought Warriors Don’t Cry was a profoundly uplifting as well as a profoundly depressing account of the integration of Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Though living under the weight of such a denigrating system crushes the spirits of some people, it tends to reinforce the determination of the Beals family to confront the injustices of segregation. If he wasn’t there, I’d hear more of the voices of those people who say I’m a nigger […] that I’m not valuable, that I have no right to be alive [….] In the decades after the American Civil War, Arkansas, like all Southern states, adhered to a legal system of segregation, known informally as “Jim Crow”—named after a popular caricature of a black slave in nineteenth-century minstrel shows. When she was young,she had to deal with segregation and racism. For me, Cincinnati was the promised land. Warriors Don't Cry. Some of the white kids smile at Melba or quietly direct her to the proper page in a textbook during class. She was wondering, for example, she couldn't ride the ferris wheel, because she was a certain color. . Warriors Don’t Cry. If not for a black janitor’s passing mention of the doctor’s instructions to Mother Lois, Melba may not have lived. Jim Crow laws recognized people as either White or Colored and required separate services and accommodations for each group. Chapter 1 Quotes My grandmother India always said God had pointed a finger at our family, asking for just a bit more discipline, more praying, and more hard work because he had blessed us with good health and good brains. Warriors Don’t Cry Introduction + Context . But I knew she was always right. “You’ve gotta learn to defend yourself. Nobody presents you with a handbook when you’re teething and says, “Here’s how you must behave as a second-class citizen.” Instead, the humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you, slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self-esteem each day. But we’re going to have integration in Little Rock. QUOTE #2 "Get to the car and leave without me if you have to" Pg 38; 13. View or download the Warriors Don't Cry study guide. Warriors Don't Cry 8 Pages. I felt myself smiling inside. and find homework help for other Warriors Don't Cry questions at eNotes “In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” — … “You had a good cry, girl?” Her voice was sympathetic but one sliver away from being angry [….] I know very well that the President didn’t send those soldiers just to protect me but to show support for an idea—the idea that a governor can’t ignore federal laws. I was both frightened and excited when the white neighbors who lived across the street invited me for dinner. With the passage of time, I became increasingly aware of how all of the adults around me were living with constant fear and apprehension. We'll make guides for February's winners by March 31st—guaranteed. When she stopped behaving in a reasonable way, she took away the only point of reference I had […]. She had to understand that in an early age. I had been taken there as a guest, and someone said the only blacks allowed there were cooks. So, of course, I made application and donned my warrior garb because it reminded me of the forbidden fences of segregation in Little Rock. These qualities help her survive her difficult year at Central High School. Sixteen had always seemed the magic age that signaled the beginning of freedom, when Mama and Grandma might let loose their hold and let me go out with my friends on pre-dates. Danny was Melba's body … Instant downloads of all 1413 LitChart PDFs Grandma India puts it well in this metaphor; religion is the thing that helps the African Americans have the strength to live, to put up with the nasty deeds white people loaded upon them, as well as sometimes helping to solve … Your support helps us continue to discover and share incredible kids books! We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Three years later, when Grandma discovered I would be one of the first blacks to attend Central High School, she said the nightmare that had surrounded my birth was proof positive that destiny had assigned me a special task. In 1962, when I had attended the mostly white San Francisco State University for two years, I found myself living among an enclave of students where I was the only person of color. Melba’s account of her experiences in both Little Rock and Cincinnati help the reader to understand that the purpose of integration was to reject Jim Crow statutes which had legalized substandard living for black people in the South and permitted routine disrespect and threats to their existences. She “couldn’t stop hoping that integrating Central High School was the first step to making Little Rock just like Cincinnati, Ohio.” In Cincinnati, “the white neighbors who [live] across the street” from her aunt and uncle invite her to dinner and talk with her “about ordinary things.” It is the first time Melba has such an experience, and it teaches her that whites are people just like her—they even use the same “blue linen dinner napkins that Grandma India favored.” Melba delights in being treated like an equal, whether standing side-by-side with the neighbor’s daughter, Cindy, while she buys popcorn at the concession stand of a drive-in movie theater, or walking down the street proudly without having to step aside for a white pedestrian. As an infant, Melba nearly dies in a white hospital due to its nurses’ refusal to follow the doctor’s orders to irrigate her head with warm water and Epsom salts “every two or three hours.” When Mother Lois confronts a nurse about this, she tells Lois that they “don’t coddle niggers.” The unwillingness to treat a nearly newborn child with a fever of 106 who is suffering from convulsions illustrates the thorough contempt that white supremacists have for the existence of black people. An Analysis of Warriors Don't Cry. By using our site you consent to our use of cookies. Detailed Summary & Analysis Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Epilogue Themes All Themes Racism … Melba Patillo Beals: Warriors Don’t Cry Quotes 1) Melba Patillo- “Nobody presents you with a handbook when your teething and says ‘Here’s how you must behave as a second class citizen.’ Instead, the humiliating expectations and traditions of segregation creep over you slowly stealing a teaspoonful of your self esteem each day.” (Page 3) 2) Grandma- “… Be patient, our … Meanwhile Mrs. Huckaby, the woman I considered to be somewhat near fair and rational about the whole situation, had lapsed back into her attitude of trying to convince me there was nothing going on […]. I knew for certain something would have to change if I were going to stay in that school. Because he knows that Nana Healey is a good and loving person, he can imagine that other black people might be … Warriors Don’t Cry Brainstorming and Quote Collection. Melba is one of the Little Rock Nine (i.e., the first black students in the United States to attend a previously all-white high school). Three years later, when Grandma discovered I would be one of the first blacks to attend Central High School, she said the nightmare that had surrounded my birth was proof positive that destiny had assigned me a special task.”, “Black folks aren’t born expecting segregation, prepared from day one to follow its confining rules. Move out, girl.” Danny’s voice sounded cold and uncaring. It takes a warrior to fight a battle and survive. One headline in the Gazette read: “Two Pupils Tell of Change in Attitude on Segregation.” Sammy Dean Parker was quoted as saying, “The Negro Students don’t want to go to school with us any more than we want to go with them. I was feeling more and more vulnerable as I watched them continually struggle to solve the mystery of what white folks expected of them. The book "Warriors Don't Cry" is an autobuography about Melba Patillo Beals' life. Warriors Don't Cry Melba P. Beals AP Level Questions How can we as individuals and as citizens make a positive difference in our school, community, or nation? Read an in-depth analysis of Melba Patillo Beals.
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