Summary
Melba and Mother Lois arrive home, where Grandma India barricades the doors. Mother Lois instructs Melba never to speak about what happened on the first day of school, in case the white men "found out who they were chasing" and come to Melba's house and kill her, so Mother Lois and Grandma India order Melba to stay in the house. In her boredom, she speaks on the phone with her friend and fellow Little Rock Nine member, Minnijean, who tells Melba that the other group members met with FBI agents who debriefed the students. Because she cannot enjoy being an average teenager, hanging out with friends and worrying about trivial things, Melba weeps. Grandma India tells Melba to make it her "last cry" because by becoming a civil rights activist, Melba is "a warrior on the battlefield" for God, and "God's warriors don't cry, 'cause they trust that he's always by their side."
In the following days, Melba's family cannot find a moment of peace as the phone rings ceaselessly from threatening callers. Integration dominates the news, which reports that the nearly five hundred soldiers and officers guarding Central High are joined by "gangs of gun-toting renegades." Melba receives a phone call that she believes is from her crush, Vince, but it is actually a man who knows her family address, threatening to kill her that night. The family then learns that the homes of others connected to integration had been attacked, as news outlets leaked the names and addresses of the Little Rock Nine.
That night, segregationists attack Melba's home, shooting through the windows. Grandma India, an expert marksman, returns fire and shoots an oil can, scaring the men off her property. Unable to call the police, who will kill the family, friendly neighbors "prowl around" with their own weapons to protect the Patillos, though some members of the community hesitate to assist the Patillo family for fear of violent retribution or losing their jobs. Neighbors visit Grandma India and Melba, bringing with them food so the family won't have to shop at the white-owned store. However, the women criticize Melba for integrating when the community is "just getting settled in the front of the bus." Then, Melba's father arrives, yelling at Grandma India and hoping that Melba will "get scared enough" to give up her fight.
Melba, her mother, and the other members of the Little Rock Nine visit Daisy Bates' house, where a gathering of people of "many different colors and types" is underway. The group meets with Arkansas NAACP attorney Wiley Branton, who instructs the students to keep up with their schoolwork and not register in any other schools. He also informs them that one student will be called on to testify about their experiences in court. The integration efforts are delayed as school board members are asked to resign, which compels President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use the National Guard to support integration.
The stress of integration weighs on Melba, who receives no calls or invitations from her friends, who are afraid that associating with her will put them in danger; Grandma India goes to wrestling matches without Melba because it is too dangerous for her to go out in public. At church, Vince asks Melba to be his girlfriend. The congregation prays for Orval Faubus and the authorities to change their minds and for God to protect Melba in the "lion's den" of Central High. Two members of the Little Rock Nine testify at a press-filled hearing where Judge Ronald Davies declares that integration of Central High will go forward the following Monday. Over the weekend, violence against Black citizens increases, and even larger crowds gather around the school.
On her first real day of classes, Melba and her classmates take a circuitous route to the school, push through angry crowds, and are separated and sent to different classes. Students and faculty alike taunt Melba, calling her racial slurs and even slapping and spitting on her. Members of the angry crowd break into the schoolyard and chase Melba, injuring her.
Melba is then rushed to the principal's office, where white administrators are discussing whether or not to "let the mob have one of these kids" as the protestors, including policemen, break through the barrier to the school in order to murder the Little Rock Nine. While the crowd violently turns on Black reporters and white reporters, a small group of white policemen sneak the children out of the school and drive them to their houses, speeding through mobs attempting to jump on the police cars. Though traumatized, Melba is relieved at least a few white people are on her side and vows to add them to her prayers.
At home, Melba receives a phone call from a journalist and gives an interview expressing her feelings and beliefs about her first day of school; the interview is published in several newspapers the following morning. Alongside Melba's interview, the family receives news that President Eisenhower plans to use federal troops to protect the students and control the violent mob. However, Governor Faubus announces that he intends to resist the order.
Analysis
Architecture is a motif used throughout the text for various symbolic purposes. For example, Melba describes her home in nostalgic detail, using the architecture to represent her feelings of safety and belonging in her family and community. Melba contrasts the grand Central High building with the humble Horace Mann school to demonstrate the economic inequality between the segregated schools. After experiencing the wrath of segregationists firsthand, Melba begins to see potential danger in every space she occupies. For example, after the shootout in her own home, Melba looks at the "huge bay window in the living room" in Daisy Bates' elegant home not as a beautiful feature but as a safety risk.
Wrestling is a form of escapism for Melba and Grandma India, which contrasts with the violence Melba endures at the hands of segregationists. Though they would not have enjoyed the spectacle if "the wrestlers were really in pain," the simulated violence lets them shout out their anger, which, according to Grandma India, is how "a body gets rid of aggression without misbehaving." Conversely, the students at Melba's school perversely enjoy causing her physical pain, making cruel games of tormenting Melba and the other eight.
In her diary, Melba writes: "Freedom is not integration. Freedom is being able to go with Grandma to the wrestling matches." This entry encapsulates the theme of "the greater good." Though Melba wants to prioritize her personal freedoms and find joy in her life, working for integration forces her to choose between being a teenager and being a civil rights leader. She recognizes that her efforts will eventually allow other teenagers to enjoy carefree activities like having sleepovers and attending wrestling matches; Melba's sacrifice is made more difficult because her former friends criticize and desert her for going forward with integration.
Similarly, Melba's work for the greater good requires her to stay silent on important matters. For example, the text includes excerpts from Melba's newspaper interview. The interview only expresses a part of her truth; per the NAACP's instructions, Melba emphasizes the positive aspects of her experience without complaint and assures the reporter that no student suffered physical injuries during the integration process (though in truth Melba did). After giving the excerpt, the text explains that Melba gave the most honest story that "wouldn't jeopardize the integration."
At Melba's church, the minister urges the congregation to pray for Governor Faubus and "do whatever was necessary to heal any sour feelings" toward white people. This is an example of the theme of "undue burdens." Though their white neighbors victimize Melba and her community, it is the Black community that is encouraged to do the work of healing racial tensions.
After the federal court order to remove the National Guard from Central High, the Black community grows anxious as "roving gangs of segregationists" attack Black people at random. The community hesitates to call the fire and police departments after attacks because they cannot be sure which city officials "wore uniforms by day and sheets by night." Wearing sheets is a reference to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist terrorist organization. In Little Rock and other cities, members of the Klan hold positions of power; thus, the community cannot safely rely on the government organizations sworn to protect them, and must instead create their own networks to deal with violence and property damage. This is an example of the theme of community; the Black residents of Little Rock use ingenuity and networks of social relationships to maintain safety during the dangerous integration process.
Similarly, Church is a place of organization and community building. In church, Melba's community plans ways to protect Melba and exchange pieces of information obtained through "limited relations with the whites." Though members of the community disagree with Melba's decision to integrate Central High, the church is united in its commitment to protecting one another.
