Warriors Dont Cry

by Melba Pattillo Beals

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction

Hardcover

Published June 16, 2007

About the author

Melba 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.

Reviews

[paige madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Class novel, overall really we’ll written

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warriors Don't Cry is a book detailing the real story of Melba Pattillo and her experience as one of the first Black girls to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. I thought this was such a personal story and it really moved me with the way that the author described her experiences. The integration of her journal into the story made her experiences feel so much more believable, with her giving her thoughts and misgivings from when she was younger. I found this to be a sad read as over time the mistreatment that she faced built up, stronger language and acts of violence thrown upon her. Having to use separate water fountains, restrooms, and being verbally/physically abused by surrounding adults must have been a traumatic experience, something I can't comprehend personally. Yet through it all I found this to be an inspirational story, about courage and acting for the community. This book was a good read in a political context for my politics/government class because it showcased the racial injustice during the time from a firsthand perspective. This is important because you can never really be in someone's shoes, but the book gives you the best idea possible for the struggles she faced, and the impact she made for her community.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you think you know what happened in Arkansas with the Little Rock Nine in the integration of the high school there? I always kind of thought I had a good handle on it… And then I read this book. Melba, a Little Rock Nine integrator, has written this book based on the diaries that she kept as a 15-year-old girl stepping into a very hostile, white world, where the adults did less than nothing to protect her against students who were being organized by their segregationist parents to run these nine children out of high school before the end of the school year. Her grandmother’s wisdom, a deep faith in a protective, caring God, and a few small kindnesses along the way helped her limp through that terrifying school year. An outstanding read. I picked it up this morning and only just set it down when I finally finished it this evening.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. First hand account from one of the Little Rock Nine - first black students to be integrated into a high school in Arkansas. This should be required reading for junior high and/or high school students. Change is hard for most people - but facing change with National Guard soldiers barring your way is something few have faced. The harassment these students faced, daily, was horrible. Racism is certainly something taught - especially by parents. Melba's grandmother was a rock! Her faith in God was certain. Her influence on Melba was incalculable. I figure that without the help of God, these nine students wouldn't have lived long enough to see what their bravery accomplished.

[Sarah Petty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important story--at times, difficult to read only because of the real truth of what happened to Ms. Melba Patillo Beals and the other Little Rock Nine members. This narrative builds connections to today of current events and why civil rights need to remain accessible to all people groups in America. What Melba lived through is shocking, traumatic, frightening, and devastating in so many ways. Yet she kept her faith, inner strength, and demeanor throughout it all, and she and the LR9 went on to lead impressively successful lives. I was inspired by the resolve of all the LR9 members, the NAACP, Grandma India (my favorite!!!), and Mother Lois.

[Rebecca C Hodges · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I thought this was a book about war I picked up for my son but when it wasn't I went ahead and read it. I love true stories and living in Utah so far from the South, I really don't have an understanding of how badly black people have been treated and this book was eye-opening to me even though I have heard stories of how bad it is. My compassion was increased by reading this book and I greatly appreciate that in my life.

[Claire Anderegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book in my Student Government class at school for the leadership portion of our class. It was so fascinating reading about Melba’s experiences at Central. She is so inspiring! Our class would read a chapter or two, and then discuss it. I’m grateful that we did because then I may have missed some important details. This book has lead me to do what Melba did: look at other people’s circumstances and perspectives and try to be kind. Thank you for writing your story, Melba.

[Detem · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. this book is written like it's for 2nd graders despite the target audience very much not being 2nd graders
2. "if you kill yourself you're a loser and a coward" terrible advice grandma nice one
3. characters aren't fleshed out at all. i do not care
4. stuff just happens. and then and then and then and then and then and then and then.
5. book bad

[Shari Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, “Warriors Don’t Cry” is a true story written by Melba Pattillo who was one of nine black teenagers who broke the color barrier at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. It was very emotional reading; I could feel her emotions each time she described the incidents. She and the eight others are heroines and heroes.

[Willa Needham · Rating 5 out of 5]

genuinely one of the most beautifully written accounts of your average teenage girl who had to become a soldier in order to accomplish what should have been a simple and sacred task - completing high school and living out her teenage years. truly in awe of Melba’s ability to forgive even when hate felt like the most normal reciprocation

[Kairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this cannot be rated anything less then five stars because it a persons life. nor would irate it any lower because this was heartbreaking and I cried at the end when the class president walked out because it felt like everything was worth it

[Emma Jachimowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking but important story. Would be interested to see if any other of the 9 wrote about their experiences

[Abigail Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

so i read this book for book club, and it was amazing. it was heartbreaking but it made me think more in depth about racial issues and the civil rights movement as a whole.

[C Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was familiar with the Little Rock Nine photographs from history textbooks, students and soldiers juxtaposed, but there was so, so much more to know. A powerful reading experience.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I very much appreciate the story and everything, but I also just don’t care enough about this to read an entire book about a riot at a school.

[Judith Theroulde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of amazing courage.

[forky wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awful way to spend your teen years. I would have run out and not gone back!

[Nikkipossum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. I have read it multiple times. It is a fast and easy read. Whenever I need reminders of strength and courage in the face of adversity, I pick this book up again.

[Ian McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warriors don’t cry but this book made me several times.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the Little Rock Nine had it hard from seeing the photos of them just trying to walk to school in 1957. I did not know that it grew into torture the whole school year. Bless the Patillo family for being Melba's rock. They were much better humans than the sick white supremacist racists in Little Rock.