Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

You don't know the story or perhaps you think you do. You saw the photos of Black teenagers being shouted at as they tried to integrate Little Rock's all-white Central High School by order of the president. The governor of Arkansas had ordered the National Guard to block the entrance and keep them out, but they eventually made it in, but this is not all of the story, not by a long-shot. In Warriors Don't Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the 9 Black teenagers who volunteered to start attending the all-white school in 1957, describes in detail what it was like trying to attend the massive high school. From the first day when their entrance was blocked to the arrival of the 101st National Air Division who was sent by the president to escort them inside and defend them from attack, Beals shows how they were verbally and physically attacked and how their families and neighborhoods were under threat from white supremacists. She also portrays the loss of relationships with the peers in her community and the assistance of a white classmate who tried to help her by warning her of planned attacks. It was a long and hard-fought battle. Those looking for a biography about struggle and courage are sure to find inspiration in this searing memoir.