Analysis Of Warriors DonT Cry Melba Pattillo Beals

Imagine being born in a place where people don't mix with one another and keep to their own kind. Imagine not being able to walk into a store because it is white owned. How would it feel if you were black, lived in a city that was run by a white government, where poverty, unemployment and lack of education were all problems of everyday life? If everyone were treated equally, then it would not be a problem. But for inner city African Americans that isn't the case. As humans, there is only so much we can take when it comes to segregation before we act out. There is only so much hate a person can take before letting it be known, once a person is pushed over that threshold there is no holding back. Overwhelming hate and anger with

Throughout the American South, of many Negro’s childhood, the system of segregation determined the patterns of life. Blacks attended separate schools from whites, were barred from pools and parks where whites swam and played, from cafes and hotels where whites ate and slept. On sidewalks, they were expected to step aside for whites. It took a brave person to challenge this system, when those that did suffered a white storm of rancour. Affronting this hatred, with assistance from the Federal Government, were nine courageous school children, permitted into the 1957/8 school year at Little Rock Central High. The unofficial leader of this band of students was Ernest Green.

In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the

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)

Segregation had had many effects on the black nation, to the point that it started building up ones character, “See the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness towards white people”, King shows readers that segregation is even affecting little children, that it is starting to build up a young girls character and is contributing to the child developing hatred “bitterness” towards the white Americans. King makes readers imagine a black cloud settling in a young girls brain mentally, when instead she should have an image of a colorful blue sky with a rainbow, isn’t that suppose to be part of a 6 year-old’s imagination? King gives readers an image of destruction civil disobedience had created in the black community, especially in the young innocent little children.

?The Ways Of Meeting Oppression,? by Martin Luther king Jr., gives an over view of how one man classifies his ways of dealing with oppression and how they were dealt with during segregation. . During the first half of the twentieth century segregation was the way of life in the south. It was excepted, and even though it was morally wrong, it still went on, as it there was nothing wrong with it. African Americans were treated as if they where a somehow sub-human, they were treated because of the color of their skin that somehow, someway they were different. Some African Americans began to ?tacitly adjust themselves to oppression?(King), or as King saw it acquiescence. Others began to stand up for themselves but in a matter that involved violence. There where those that stood up for themselves by using nonviolence resistance which was Dr. King?s ideal method of dealing with oppression. ?Nonviolence is the answer to the racial, political and moral question. . .the need for man to overcome oppression and violence. . .?(King). This captures both Dr. King?s powerful feeling and stance on nonviolence as the way to winning the respect of the oppressors. Like Martin Luther king Jr. I to have learned the strategies of how people deal with the three types of oppression which are: acquiescence, violence, and non-violence resistance, but trough historical instances and my personal experiences in the past.

A CLASS DIVIDED Thirty years ago Jane Elliott taught the third grade in the white, Christian community of Riceville, Iowa. The day Martin Luther King Jr. was killed she planned an exercise that wouldn't just show her students what racism is - rather, it would give them first-hand experience of what it felt like to be oppressed for something out of their control. Elliott divided her class by the color of their eyes, marked them with armbands and proceeded to treat one group as if superior in capabilities to the other. The superior students performed better than they ever had before, while the inferior students' performance dropped. The next day, the third graders traded ranks and their performance reversed in accordance to their

History is filled with stories of dedicated human rights activists that risked their lives to fight for what they believe in. Three good examples of human rights activists that never gave up are Melba Pattillo Beals, Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Jones. Melba Pattillo Beals and Gandhi actively worked in fighting for racial equality while Mother Jones worked to improve children’s and workers’ rights. These determined human rights activists never gave up when fighting to improve the rights of persecuted people facing discrimination.

America stands for equality, freedom, and choice, but upon looking into the history behind America the everlasting struggle of racism, bigotry, and inequality are revealed. Through the 1950s to the 1970s, the fight for civil rights by African Americans was prominent throughout America. Schools, restaurants, and all public facilities were segregated, African Americans were blocked from voting through literacy tests and poll taxes, and The KKK, a white supremacist group, would lynch African American men. The need for the immediate cease of these practices and the desire for equality gave way to the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders and groups arose from this movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Black Panther Party. The overall goal was to achieve rights but there were two significantly different methods of achieving this goal, non-violent civil disobedience and “black power”. The shift from non-violent civil disobedience to “black power” was caused by the emotional toll of being complacent during personal attack and the truth that immediate change calls upon the use of force, and the result of the shift was the further spread of violence.

Jim Crow was a set of unfair laws that kept African Americans and whites segregated. Jim Crow had started in 1877; The book Warriors Don't Cry is a memoir from the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Central High which occurred around 1941. In the event of Jim Crow whites were fighting for power and African Americans were fighting for equality. The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students who finally come to possession of integrating with whites. It was the first time any African American students went to Central High with whites, let along any school. Little Rock Nine has more power because after a long time of being segregated and enslaved, they still succeed to integrate schools with “non colored” and it impacted their Community as well as them.

Author: Benjamin Fine Article title: Arkansas Troops Bar Negro Pupils; Governor Defiant Newspaper: The New York Times Publisher: The New York Times Date: September 4, 1957 Accessed date: February 28, 2014 Description This newspaper article was posted on NY-Times.com. It reports on the first day of integration at Central High School.

In her memoir Warriors don’t cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her experiences as she became one of the first nine black students educated in an integrated white school called central high school. The author describes how she survives a harrowing year helping to integrate central high school in Little Rock Arkansas in 1957. The three main ideas that I’m going to talk about are integration, racism, and courage.

Melba Pattillo Beals is a very determined young lady. She presents many strong personal characteristics in her time of integrating Central High School. However, she faces many adversities through this battle for her freedom and equality. During her rough time Beals questions her faith and family. She later learns that her strength and security is in God. In the book Warriors Don’t Cry Melba Pattillo Beals presents the idea that courage, faith, and fear are vital in her search for freedom and equality.

Blindly, our nation’s black population fought, not always knowing what for, just as the boys in this story fought. The segregation of schools, restaurants, and other public facilities were issues that were fiercely fought over.

In the 1940‘s racial segregation gripped southern American life. The notion of separating blacks from whites created immense tension. Separate water fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, etc. were variables that helped keep races apart. “Jim Crow” laws in the south were intended to prevent blacks from voting. These laws, combined with the segregated educational system, instilled the sense that blacks were “separate” but not equal (174). Many people of color weren‘t able to survive through this time period because of the actions of whites. One individual who overcame the relentless struggles was Ralph Ellison. Ellison, a famous author, depicted racial segregation in the 1940’s through a fictional short story entitled “Battle Royal.” Battle