Warriors Don’t Cry
Important areas to cover. Please jot down notes to these incidents or elements of the story as you read. Use these ideas for
your reaction logs. These notes will also be useful for comprehension quizzes.
Ch. 1

First understanding of segregation

Instances of segregation, esp. the merry-go-round

The Grocery store incident
Ch. 2

Brown vs. Bd. of Ed.

Attempted rape

Melba volunteers to integrate

Visited Cincinnati

Finds out she is selected to integrate/Family unhappy
Ch 3.

Description of students selected/relationship with them

Governor against it/told them he couldn’t guarantee safety/soldiers there, keeping them out of school
Ch. 4

Elizabeth taunted by crowd.

Melba and mother was chased by angry mob and couldn’t go to Central

Grandma India tells her warriors don’t cry/Melba is threatened on phone, doesn’t tell family
Ch. 5

Little Rock School Board asked judge to suspend integration

Melba wants a normal life, including socially, she can’t go to wrestling match with Grandma

Vince asks Melba to be his girlfriend

Melba starts to be tutored at community college, and the Little Rock Nine grow closer

Little Rock Nine meets with press and for the first time Melba feels she is treated with respect and feels equal with
white people and feels strongly about integration again.
Ch. 6

Court Decision is upheld Melba to go to Central High. The lawyers for the governor walk out stating that it is a “state”
matter and not for the federal gov’t (US court) shouldn’t interfere.
Ch. 7

Melba goes to Central High and gets spit on, slapped, called names, tripped, and chased by a group of mothers who
jumped the fence.

The crowd outside the school grew bigger, and the chief of police decides to get them out instead of “letting one hang”
(children are children). People chased the car and threw rocks and stones.

The mob chased and beat three black reporters and other news reporters (it distracted them and that’s why the children
could get out.)

Melba chose not to tell her family what really happened at school that day, and she wrote an article for the A.P. about
her first day she modified it so it didn’t affect integration.

The “Screaming Eagle Division of the 101st” were the US soldiers assigned by President Eisenhower to protect the
children.
Ch. 8

“Danny” is a soldier assigned only to Melba and to guard her all day. Melba recounts her 2 nd day at Central, more
ridicule and harassment, no physical injury.

Reporters continue to surround her, and one asks her to write her experiences down.
Ch. 9

Melba was again harassed and kicked. Danny said he couldn’t get into verbal or physical battles with students. When
Melba reported the incident the clerk wouldn’t help saying there was no adult witness.

Melba got dynamite thrown on her (Danny saved her) and choked and threatened at pep rally. Danny told her warriors
survive.
Ch. 10

The first weekend after week at Central Melba “pampered” herself, had a date with Vince.

The Mother’s League requested 101st exit, Nat’l Guard came in and Melba was harassed by paper on fire in bathroom stall.
Even when 101st was back, Melba had acid thrown in her eyes (Danny saved her eye sight).
Ch. 11

Melba is constantly thinking about her safety. She, Ernie, Minnijean and certain white hard-core segregationists were
meeting to talk out differences. It was hoped to be a turning point, but turned out not to be.

Sammy Dean makes comment afterward that she thinks the NAACP is paying them to go. Shows she misunderstands
totally.

Half of 101st Airbourne leave, and more leaving every week, Melba tries to constantly think like a warrior.

Parents and Little Rock Nine meet with Supt. Blossom to hear a plan to keep them safe – he does nothing and treats
Melba’s mom like dirt.

Each member of Little Rock Nine showing stress in different ways.

Minnijean is obsessed with trying out for Christmas show, they tell her sign-ups were weeks ago, Melba talks to white
students in chapel service.

The nine of them have a “Thanksgiving dinner” and press conference. Melba makes a joke about having an integrated
turkey (dark/white meat) and it makes harassing worse at school.

Danny tells Melba good-bye in his own way and all troops are pulled from Central.
Ch. 12

Melba gets cornered by a white boy and knees him in crouch. Newspaper prints articles about all of them, which gives
their attackers info to harass them with. Students are even more organized with the harassment.

Melba turns sixteen and only invites Minniejean, old friends and Vince. Only Vince comes because another party is going
on (without inviting Melba) and they are scared to be connected with her.

Minnijean is tripped and spills chili all over two boys. She gets suspended.
Ch. 13

Melba gets honored by a sorority and has some peace at Christmas at the grown-up party.

Melba’s father comes at Christmas and she feels almost normal.

Melba can’t go with Vince to New Year’s Eve party so she write down her resolutions.
Ch. 14

After Christmas break, harassing gets worse and they are all afraid they will be the next to be suspended.

Rumor said the White Citizen Council was offering a $10,000.00 reward for whoever would kill one of the black students.

A rally was held at school on “What Race Mixers are Planning for Us” several students are absent in protest and asst.
principal has students sit in office to ensure their safety.

Melba realizes she writes in journal several times that she wishes she was dead. Grandma India gives her advice and
strength. Melba’s new tactic is “turn the tables” on the students and be nice.

Minnijean has soup thrown on her twice and is accused of retaliating so the expel her.

Minnijean gets to go to a private boarding school and is given clothes. Melba is jealous and will miss Minnijean.

Melba is harassed, hit with tennis racket, and cornered by Andy and gang. Link, a white boy, saves her, by giving her his
car keys.
Ch. 15

Link winks and gives Melba notes. Melba puts her plan of turning the tables on them in place and it seems to work
somewhat. Link saves her again, but Melba thinks it was a trick.
Ch. 16

Link and Melba form a kind of friendship and he calls her at night and warns her of what the segregationists are planning.

Link at first is mad at Melba because the school is ruining his senior year, then he is mad at school. He tells her he had a
colored nanny, Nana Healey.

Easter is a time of joy for Melba and her family and a good break for her. A new judge is in place and tries to stop
integration.
Ch. 17

Link takes Melba to see his Nanny in a bad, black neighborhood and explains how his family cast her aside. Link gives her
half his allowance, buys her food and takes care of her. He wants Melba to convince her to see a doctor and tell her the
money came from church.

After Nana sees the doctor, Melba tells Link she will die and Links is mad at his parents for not taking care of her.
Grandma India is told and visits Nana with Link every week.

Melba’s mother is told her school will not renew her contract unless Melba pulls out of Central.
Ch. 18

Melba’s mother and grandma decide to go to the newspaper with the story of Mother Lois losing her job.

At Central, excitement was brewing for the end of the year (yearbooks, graduation, etc.)

The newspaper printed the story and Melba’s family received calls of support and of harassment.

More pressure was put on Ernie so he wouldn’t graduate, and more “punishment” for all the black students.

Mother went to the church for help, the most powerful bishop told Mother Lois to go the white administrator and say,
“Bishop Sherman asked me to tell you he would like me to have a job.” Mother Lois got her contract renewed the next day.

Ernie graduates, Melba burns all of her Central papers and forgave all of her harassers.

Mrs. Healey died, Link inconsolable, wants Melba to go to Harvard with him, she doesn’t.

The Little Rock Nine are honored up North, but integration is halted because even though the courts overturned a halt,
Gov. Faubus closed all of the high schools so Melba (and all others) couldn’t go.

Grandma India died, two families moved away, others lost jobs, Melba lived with a white foster family and goes to college,
marries white man, has a baby, divorces husband, and becomes an NBC reporter.