On the morning of September 25, 1957 nine African-American teenagers stood up to an angry crowd protesting integration in front of Little Rock's Central High as they entered the previously all-white school for the first time. This event, broadcast around the world, made Little Rock the site of the first important test of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.

 

Warriors Don’t Cry is a first-person account of one of those nine African-American teenagers, Melba Pattillo Beals. Melba’s tale of courage chronicles her day- to -day struggles prior to, during, and after her days at Central. Much more than a historical account, Warriors Don’t Cry describes how nine teenagers fought to change an unfair system and the mistreatment they endured because of this choice. Melba’s book makes “real” the issue of inequality based on race and class.