Warriors Don't Cry

In case you didn't know/forgot, February is Black History Month.

This is a picture that represents a sad moment in American history.  Whether you know the story behind it or not, I highly recommend that you read this week's Nonfiction Teen Reads Tuesday Book to learn the first hand account of what it was like for nine black students to integrate an all white school in the South in 1957.

Warriors Don't Cry

By Melba Patillo Beals

Genre: Non-fiction; Civil Rights Movement

My rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Summary: "The landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, brought the promise of integration to Little Rock, Arkansas, but it was hard-won for the nine black teenagers chosen to integrate Central High School in 1957.   Melba Patillo Beals (one of the chosen nine) tells an incredible story of faith, family love, friendships, and strong personal commitment. Drawing from the diaries she kept, the author easily puts readers in her saddle oxfords as she struggles against those people in both the white and black communities who would have segregation continue. Her prose does not play on the sympathy of readers; it simply tells it like it happened. She shares the physical, mental, and emotional torture and abuse she suffered at the hands of teenagers and adults. She also shares the support, the encouragement, and the help she received from both whites and blacks."

I thought this book was absolutely incredible.  I had heard the story about the Little Rock Nine, but didn't really know the whole story.  If you did, you would know it was much more than just integrating an all white school in the south and the mob you see pictured above.

I loved how it was written from one of the nine students' perspectives.  You really got to experience what the entire school year was like for them.  Not only did they have to face that mob, but one of them had acid thrown in their eyes, another had soup poured on her head, plus other prejudices that the nine experienced daily.  Melba tells the story not only from her recollections, but also includes journal entries she wrote during that historical year.

*This is a book I taught my 8th grade students.  The students were appalled and enthralled by the story.  They were assigned to read two chapters a week, but most read the entire book in about a week or two.  We had incredible discussions and it was wonderful to see their eyes (and mine too!) opened to a world that has changed considerably.  

One thing to be careful with kiddos reading it is there is an attempted rape scene in the book.  And the author tells it like it was, so the "N" word is used numerous times.  The book is intended for grade 7 and up, and fits into the 8th grade curriculum where I taught.