When somebody does something bad or illegal, there are consequences; Whether it results in karma, punishments, or even a jail sentence, these consequences are solely based upon our actions, or, at least we would hope. In the book Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, we learn that our actions do have repercussions, but we also learn that those of which we receive can be unjust and biased. The memoir follows the true story of Pattillo Beals, one of the nine original black students to integrate into Little Rock Central High School, in 1957 Arkansas. Throughout her journey, she and her fellow colored peers receive relentless hate and unjust treatment from both students and school staff. Minnijean is Melba's closest friend in the group. Minnijean is eventually expelled from Central high for "fighting". In actuality she dropped her tray, from which a bowl of chili splashed on to two white boys. The boys had been harassing her and their actions put Minnijean off balance, causing her to spill the chili. A white male later decides to do unto Minnijean as she had done to the two male students and the “ boy doused …show more content…
This is an issue that’s affecting hundreds of thousands of lives and families, yet nobody’s speaking up. Although I am a privileged, white, and female living in Middleton, Wisconsin, I am affected by the disgust of this subject. A change needs to be made, and I hope to eventually be the change this issue needs. I chose to educate myself about the racial inequality in not only history and throughout the Civil Rights Movement, but also what’s going on now. Personally, I hope to have a career revolving around crime whether that be being a detective, a paralegal, a police officer, or anything in between. This issue from the 1950’s should not have ever happened in the first place, and should definitely not still be with us in
In 1957 it was very hard for African-American students to achieve their dream. In the text “Warriors Don’t Cry” there is a ton of evidence for this statement. Some examples of the previous statement is, Melba’s house was shot at, The people in the mob were being violent, and Elizabeth Eckford had experienced denial of the opportunity that she had deserved to enter her school. They had faced a ton of discrimination; they continued to try to get into the school. Though at one point they had gotten into the school, everything wasn’t all perfect.
Both James Baldwin and Melba Beals are well experienced in living in a society where whites are viewed as superior to people of color, and they both know how it felt to feel ashamed in their own skin. In Baldwins letter "My Dungeon Shook" he writes to his nephew about succeeding in such an unfair world. In Melba's "Warriors Don't Cry" she tells her harrowing experiences as she tries to pursue the integration of Central High School as a member of the Little Rock Nine. Melba's experiences and the unfair world Baldwin describes have many similarities and it shows how society's treatment of others can dramatically affect someone's
Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattilo Beals is a memoir about Beals experiences and her journey while integrating Little Rocks Central High School. She wanted to share her story about what it was like to grow up in the middle of the civil rights movement and what it was like to be one of the nine students who were the first African Americans to integrate a public all white school. During and after reading the book a few thoughts went through my head. First, was my reaction at the horrific things that were done to Melba by integrationist in Central High. For example, while in the bathroom stall a group of girls locked her in and began dumping paper that was light on fire onto her.
“She would impart to me gems of Jim Crow wisdom” (Wright 2). In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” Richard Wright, speaks of his own experiences growing up in the half century after slavery ended, and how the Jim Crow laws had an effect on them. Wright’s experiences support the idea that a black person could not live a life relatively free of conflict even if they adhered to the ethics of Jim Crow. The first experience that Wright describes came when he was only a young boy living in Arkansas. He and his friends had been throwing cinder blocks and they found themselves in a ‘war’ against a group of white boys.
As of the year 2016, there are an estimated 324,118,787 people living in America. 324,118,787 people consider themselves to be Americans and 324,118,787 people have decided that America really is worthy enough to be called home. These people, whether they were born within the country or emigrated from another country, comingle in this melting pot of a nation, sharing grocery stores and hospitals and neighborhoods and all the ideologies that make up American society, and each of these people have their own lives and opinions and personal beliefs. All of these people, all (roughly) 324,118,787 of them, fall under the definition of an American – a person who lives in America, because there is simply no other way to define what an American is when
Many would like to cover their ears and act as though racial justice is a thing of the past. That after the civil rights movement everyone is treated equally. But, we must uncover our ears and address the issue before it gets even more out of hand. I fight for racial justice everyday by beating every stereotype. I push myself to rise above what many think of me and how I will live my life.
Imagine getting up everyday before high school and preparing for war. For Melba Pattillo Beals this fear was a scary reality. In the beginning of “Warriors Don 't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock 's Central High” by Melba Pattillo Beals, she begins talking about what it’s like to come back to the haunted racist halls of Little Rock Central High School. This was a time when civil rights was a major issue and the color separation between white and black was about to be broken. Melba and nine other students entered Central High School becoming the first African American students to go to an all white school.
A prominent thematic throughout the novel, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals is self-reliance. In many instances throughout the novel, Melba must be brave and is sometimes not able to rely on anyone else but herself. There are many figures in the novel that help her overcome obstacles but in many cases, she is forced to fight the battle on her own. One could imply that the tone of the novel is fearful because she is terrified in multiple occasions and is forced to overcome these challenges. The theme of self-reliance for Melba starts when she joins Central High.
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt says that to grow as a person, someone must first be scared. People also have to do what they think is impossible to grow. The Little Rock Nine, who integrated Central High, were scared for their lives every day of their high school experience at Central High.
Some people do not accept things as they are, but as they should be. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, three characters exemplify this. These characters willingly pay the price in order to stand against the dark issue of racism. From the pages of this book, their voices teach us that when culture displays hostility towards minorities, each individual has a choice: to follow or to stand up for truth. Although the time period in this story occurrs long ago, the lessons remain.
If we didn’t read this book and see the way they were treated we would still be constantly treating black people this way. We can all relate to these situations where black people could be easily criticized, but since many people have learned that these behaviors are wrong we choose not to use them that way. That is the good thing about teaching this book to us young readers. We take advantage of our differences and use them against people. This book shows us how that could be a problem.
History is a comprised of individual choices. Those choices can work to include or exclude others. In 1957 nine black students chose to integrate Little Rock Central High School and a whole group of white kids worked to exclude them. There are three sets of primary source documents about the expulsion of one of these Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown. These document sets change one’s thinking about this expulsion because the first documents suggest that she was expelled for dumping chili on a white boy; the second sets of documents suggest that she was expelled because she retaliated against a white girl; and the final documents state that the expulsion was because she was acting as if she belonged at Central High School.
In the book Warriors Don 't Cry, Melba and her friends integrate into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Melba and her friends experiences troubles as she tries to survive integration. Beals reveals a lot of things that would gives hint to things that we see ahead. The book mainly focuses on the south, light has been shed on events in the north around the same time when the Little Rock Nine (Bars) integrated. This essay will make inferences that show how people in the southern schools will continue to be ruthless and slow acceptance for the nine and for the north schools how whites will except African-Americans more.
During this time, many individuals fought against the racial inequality and discrimination that was pervasive in American society. While some individuals may have felt guilty for benefiting from a system of oppression, love and a sense of justice compelled them to act. They marched, protested, and risked their lives to fight for equality, even when it may have been easier to stay silent. Love for their fellow human beings and a desire for a better world ultimately triumphed over any feelings of guilt they may have had. There are countless examples of how love can be more powerful than guilt in personal experiences.
The Most Effective Responses to Inequality Inequality or injustice has the same meaning when it comes to African American community who knows too well of its true meaning. Injustice impacts African American communities in negative ways, with the legal system, educational institution and red lining by zip codes. From P. T. S. S. to the non-payment of reparations promised, including an unbalanced justice systems that leads to mass incarceration for African American, to a non-caring education school system. Injustice has plagued a race of people that continue to experience it daily. In Dr. Joy Degruy book “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” trauma and ever present anger was a big factor that has been left unaddressed in society.