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Kyle Yee Mr. McGlashan US History AP 8/20/10 Advocates of a Warrior In 1954, the United States Supreme Court declared segregated schools illegal in the Brown v. Board of Education decision. This decision allowed black and white students to go to the same schools in the previously segregated South. In Little Rock, Arkansas, however the majority of white citizens opposed the rule and immediately after the ruling, chaos began to arise. Violence and riots made it difficult to integrate a large number of black students, making only nine students able to attend a Little Rock High School. In her compelling autobiography, Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals wrote everything from her aspirations of life to her darkest experiences during this tumultuous time. In just the tenth grade Melba volunteered to become one of the few black students to attend Little Rock’s Central High School the following year despite not knowing what she was getting herself into or how she would grow from her experience. The innocent young woman soon became known as one member of the “Little Rock Nine,” experiencing countless numbers of death threats and many physical attacks during the integration process. Although integration deprived Melba of a “normal” teenage life, this young woman uses her experiences at Central High School to become a warrior, fighting against racial hatred and discrimination toward a world of racial equality. The United States army played a key factor in helping Melba survive. Integration into Central High School, caused high tensions as white on black violence intensified. At first, mobs successfully intimidated the students from going to the previously all-white school. However on orders from the president, the 101st airborne soldiers of the U.S. army intervened for the blacks’ safety. She had her own bodyguard, named Danny. On one occasion, a boy threw acid in Melbas face, she experienced “sudden pain…I thought I’d die…cold liquid was splashed in my eyes…The pain was subsiding…Bit by bit I could see the sleeve of Danny’s uniform…” (173). This incident could have turned out much worse. Without the “cold liquid”, Melba could have easily lost her eyesight or even died. With Danny’s quick actions, Melba received relief as quickly as she got the acid thrown in her face. The importance of the 101st troops was even clearer when they had left. Once the troops had left, Melba had to deal with the “students… harassing us at school…days inside Central were now graded by the severity of the pain I endured…their nonstop torture made me feel as if I were losing my mind…” (207). The tone in Melbas words contrast those from when the army was in the school. Although Melba had always dealt with “harassing”, now she was experiencing “nonstop torture”. Her days at Central High used to be protected by heroes of war. The removal of troops slowly brought out more attacks from students. Soon she learned that she had to become a soldier of her own. Religion was important in Melba’s harsh experiences. Although she had her own guards, that was not always enough. She had no friends to turn to for help and no protection as she sat in the classroom. Only Melba’s consistent belief in God allowed her to keep moving forward on tough days. When in class, people shouted “…ugly words… [Her] heart was weeping… [she] tried to remember…God loves you, child; no matter what, he sees you as his precious idea.” (112) On some of her hardest days, Melba only had God to talk to. While people saw her as an animal, she saw herself as something greater than a human, Gods “precious idea”. People who called her “ugly words”, made her feel as if no one loved her. By the end of her story, Melba ends with the prayer “Namasté (the God in me sees and honors the God in you).” (312) Her prayer powerfully ends her story because it shows her ability to remain faithful after all she endured as a student breaking racial barriers and forcing her world to accept integration. She recognizes the hatred and cruelty she survived but still “honors the god in” her antagonists. With God, she identifies the link between herself and everyone else around the world. By finding this common link, she has been able to identify with her abusers and ultimately accept them. She believes God is in everyone and her dependence on God helped her through High School. Throughout her story, Melba had a supportive family. When the first days of integration began, Melba cried then that her life was turned upside down. Grandma India responded by saying, “You’ll make this your last cry. You’re a warrior on the battlefield for your lord. God’s warriors don’t cry…The women of this family don’t break down in the face of trouble. We act with courage…” (57) Grandma India explains to Melba that she is doing this for a greater cause. She helps Melba realizes she is going to have to accept pain in order to be a “warrior.” Grandma India instills uplifting words in order to make Melba stronger. She shows Melba that she has to become more than just an average teenager, and in fact become a warrior fighting for the greater cause. Melba thinks about her Grandma’s wise words when the harassment gets out of control at Central High and forces herself to become a stronger person. Throughout the autobiography, Grandma India displays her love and support for Melba in many diverse ways. After a long night of protecting the house, Grandma India says that she will “…keep watch again tonight…Grandma was an expert marksman... she double-checked the lock on every door and window in the house…” (61-62). Grandma India shows that she herself is willing to take action; she follows her own words of wisdom rather than merely telling others to be strong without being a warrior herself. She follows through in watching over her family and is thorough in making sure “every door and window in the house” is secure. Grandma India’s vigilance helped Melba sleep safely at night, getting her ready for stressful morning school days. Through both words and action, Grandma India teaches Melba to become a stronger person, essentially a warrior fighting to remove racial hatred. Melba Pattillo Beals affected racial hatred and helped eliminate much of the discrimination that existed in the 1950s and 1960s. . Today’s schools have virtually eliminated the racial hatred demonstrated at Central High School. Melba Pattillo Beals acted as a warrior, helping to fight for the racial equality and the justice she believed in for both herself, the other members of the Little Rock Nine and for future generations of black students. Although the racism that existed when Central High School first integrated has almost ceased to exist, many students today still face other types of closed-minded discrimination. For example, students who are gay often find themselves the subject of homophobic slurs. We can only hope to learn from the experiences of Melba Pattillo Beals and become warriors ourselves to fight against any discrimination or hatred.