Summary
Warriors Don't Cry opens with a description of a 1987 statue unveiling to honor the Little Rock Nine. Melba then recounts her traumatic early childhood experiences of racism, such as being scared of lighter-skinned relatives, hearing racial slurs directed at her and her family, and being kicked off the merry-go-round. Though Beals initially feels comfortable in her family home and community, attending church, school, ballet lessons, and Girl Scouts, she begins to absorb the anxiety expressed by adults in her life as they attempt to "solve the mystery of what white folks expected of them." When Melba voices her fears, her grandmother, India, instructs her to "tell God all about it" by recording her thoughts in a locked diary, prompting Melba's lifelong interest in religion and writing.
On the day the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education ends legal segregation in public schools, Melba's teacher dismisses Melba and her classmates, instructing them to walk home in groups to avoid harassment. While Melba walks home, she reflects on how Little Rock is praised in the media as a "progressive" where "lots of different races of people" were "working side by side." In reality, the Black citizens of Little Rock endure harassment, violence, and poor living conditions. When Melba walks home through the field, a white man, enraged by the Supreme Court decision, attempts to rape her. As Melba resists the man and fights to stay conscious, Marissa, an older, disabled girl, attacks the white man, allowing Mebla to escape.
Melba signs up to integrate Central High School without telling her parents. She follows the news about the Civil Rights Movement, growing hopeful during wins, like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and despondent when the Little Rock government, led by Governor Orval Faubus, opposes the Supreme Court order and resists integration. Melba and her family go to Cincinnati to visit her great-uncle Clancey. Cincinnati is integrated, and to Melba, it is a "promised land" where she can escape the feeling of "being choked" in Little Rock. Uncle Clancey's white neighbors invite Melba to dinner, the first time any white person has wanted her company. She goes to the movies with the neighbor's daughter, Cindy, and walks through department stores, being greeted by white folks in a friendly way rather than harassed. Melba asks her mother to let her stay in Cincinnati with Uncle Clancey; however, her plan is interrupted when the news announces she has been selected to integrate Central High School. Segregationists plan to prevent Black students from attending the white school "at all costs." Mother and Grandma India are furious at Melba and afraid for their family's safety. Melba is nervous about harassment and succeeding academically at Central High, a school notable for its state-of-the-art facilities and accomplished alumni.
Melba and her family rush back to Little Rock, where Melba sits through countless meetings with school superintendents and Daisy Bates, the president of the NAACP Arkansas chapter and co-owner of the Arkansas State Press, a newspaper that serves as "the sole voice" for Black Arkansians. The original seventeen selected students dwindle to nine as threats mount against the students and their families. As the beginning of the school year draws closer, Melba receives lectures from strangers and people in her community about integration. Though integrating the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, had been successful and without serious violence, integrating the school system proves far more difficult in Little Rock. White folks resist integration by holding "states' rights rallies," harassing Melba over the telephone, and "buying guns." Grandma India stays up the entire night before Melba's first day, guarding her family with her shotgun.
With an escort of both Black and white ministers, the children attempt to attend their first day of school. Melba and her mother cannot park close to the meeting site due to the massive crowd of segregationists "from as far away as Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia" protesting the integration. Governor Orval Faubus commands the National Guard to keep the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High, claiming he wants to de-escalate conflicts he foresees as inevitable; so, when Elizabeth Eckford, a member of the Little Rock Nine, tries to enter school alone, a line of soldiers block her. The soldiers do nothing as the crowd encloses Elizabeth and call for her to be hanged; men with rope pursue Melba, Lois, and Elizabeth, attempting to hit them with improvised weapons like tree branches. Thankfully, a sympathetic woman escorts Elizabeth onto the bus, and Melba and Mother Lois make it to their car and escape, though attackers throw bricks at the car.
Analysis
Warriors Don't Cry explores the emotional and psychological impacts of racism in all its forms, including structural racism and bigotry. The laws and institutions of Little Rock uphold segregation and protect racists, making it near-impossible for Melba and her community to get justice. To illustrate this point, Melba recounts how her family handles various hate crimes. After Melba escapes a rapist, her family decides not to report the assault to the police because "white police are liable to do worse."
White women harass Melba when, unable to hold her bladder, she uses the "White Ladies" restroom. Though Melba is clearly a harmless child, the white women call her slurs and even call the police. However, rather than listening to Melba's statement, the police interrogate Melba and her grandmother, accusing them of being part of a "communist group" trying to integrate Little Rock. The police then warn Melba and her grandmother that if they are caught "being curious about what belong[s] to white folks," they will end up imprisoned, "wearing stripes," or murdered. Clearly, in Melba's world, racism is a pervasive reality supported by the institutions that should protect Melba. When Melba expresses to Grandma India that she wants to be white so she can "be in charge," Grandma India sagely responds, "what you really want is to be free."
Melba and her family survive and thrive by leaning on their community. Community is a significant theme throughout the text; Melba uses the phrase "our people" in reference to the Black community, creating a sense of shared experience. Unable to turn to authorities for assistance, the Black community in Little Rock develops networks and systems to protect and provide for one another. For example, when Mother Lois is overcharged at the grocery store by a white grocer seeking to harass her, Grandmother India forms a group to shop across town, knowing there is protection in numbers. Right after Melba's enrollment in Central High is announced, Melba's neighbors bring them food so the family will not have to expose themselves to outside dangers, and neighbors with guns keep watch over the Pattillos' house.
One of the themes Beals explores in Warriors Don't Cry is shame. Melba believes segregation is a humiliating experience, and recounts the shame she feels when her family, fearful of violent retribution, "kowtow" to white people. For example, white men, like the milkman and insurance agents, attempt to humiliate Mother Lois by sexually harassing her. Melba's father, a brave and physically intimidating man, cannot defend her because he knows white supremacists might murder his family if he stands up to them. After Melba escapes a rapist, she feels a sense of disgust and shame, not understanding what happened to her. Grandma India bathes Melba's bloody face and burns her torn clothes, and suggests Melba pray for the rapist, which would help her "get over the feelings of shame." Though ultimately Melba forms a resilient sense of dignity, the ceaseless harassment she endures chips away at her self-esteem.
The text uses the visual imagery of segregated spaces to illustrate the inherent inequality segregation creates. As a child, Melba was often afraid to use segregated bathrooms, which are hidden away in the dark, difficult-to-reach corners of buildings. Melba enviously compares her small school, Horace Mann, to the manicured lawns of Central High. Grandma India tells Melba to be patient and "one day, God willing, you'll see inside that school." Grandma India's prescient statement foreshadows the central conflict of the text: integrating Central High.
When the Little Rock Nine are selected, Melba describes each of her schoolmates. By invoking personal details about each student, such as Carlotta Walls' ability to be "always in a good mood" or Thelma Mothershed's heart condition, Melba emphasizes the youth, humanity, and individuality of each student, inviting the reader to empathize with the traumas they are about to experience. Though they are "warriors," Beals carefully highlights that the Little Rock Nine were children who suffered untold abuse. Beals also highlights the similarities between the students and their upbringing, such as their "no-nonsense," professional parents, who insisted their children "behave appropriately." The students are also "individualists with strong opinions" who dream of going to college and take pride in their appearance. As Beals later points out, these traits are essential for the Little Rock Nine, who are instructed not to "fight back" despite the racism and abuse they endure.
Warriors Don't Cry examines the idea of lost innocence. Melba's lost innocence can be best tracked through the excerpts from her childhood diary. Even as a small child, Melba expresses her developing understanding of racism and her own resilience. Initially, Melba's childhood diary entries express intense anxiety and a constant sense of anger over the unfairness of the world. As Melba grows older, her diary entries become more nuanced, and she weighs her own self-preservation with her conviction to do what is right. Though peppered with the usual frivolities of adolescence, like crushes, fashion, and music, Melba's diary mainly focuses on her inner turmoil and fear as the school year progresses.
