Creative Writing: Melba's Integration Journey

Melba is not a normal high school girl. She is one of nine black students that attends high school with white students that do not like her. She is always going after what she believes in and is a spirited person. “It takes a warrior to fight a battle and survive” (Beals113). Melba does not let the threats and harassment’s from the white students get her down or unfocused. It just makes her stronger. Melba's grandmother, Grandma India, was also there to help her fight and keep going. “Naw you're not a quitter” (Beals 42). When she hears those words, she knows that as the days go on, she has somebody there for her. Melba is determined to keep going on her rough journey.

Melba, who is just a teenager had to face hardships greater than any teenager should have. She faced excruciating troubles like her loss of education because of her movement on integration and the temporary loss of her mom’s job which affected her and her family because she went to a school called Central High. How do you justify such a stressful, life-threatening, and bloodcurdling experience she has been in? I certainly believe Melba’s integration of Central High was not worthwhile.

How is it to only have eight true friends through a whole school year? Well, Melba had to go through that. She integrated into an all-white school with eight other African Americans. Furthermore, those eight African Americans were her closest friends for a whole year. All together, they had to face threats and violence at school that she and her friends could never have imagined happening to them.

Melba grew up in horrible conditions because the government didn’t fund them because they were black which shows that there was not just racism at school and in public but also in the government. She is saying that she lived in a house as if she was an animal but even worse because they could be destroyed or blown down if there was even a little bit of a breeze which can make someone feel as if they are worthless because they were treated bad and lived in bad conditions. Melba is discriminated once again but this time from a man at the carousel when he says, “There's no space for you here” (4). When Melba first starts school at Central High School, she has no idea of the obstacles and abuse she would face. She soon finds out how hard her year at Central High School would be if she reacted back to the in a negative way, which is why she chose to treat them like she wanted to be treated. But not only was she treated bad at school but she was treated bad in the town and in public. People would just bump into African Americans and call them names and makes them use certain bathrooms., restaurants, ect. They would do all of this because they feared people being different and they were afraid of change.

of school (ch. 4, pg. 36). Melba dealt with being spat on, slapped, paper flames being thrown at her in the bathroom stall (ch. 10, pg. 120), sprayed in the eyes with some form of acid, etc. (ch. 10, pg. 121) Minnijean experienced being tricked, or excluded, from Central High’s activities such as being a part of their Glee Club and having roles plays (ch. , pg. ). She was also fed up with two boys messing with her at lunch one day and spilled soup onto them, which caused her to be suspended. And when she came back, she was expelled because she was accused of calling some boys “white trash” and throwing a purse at a girl (ch. 14,

In September of 1960, Central is again open to integration, but only two of the nine students are readmitted. They eventually graduate. Melba begins to attend San Francisco State University with predominantly white students. One night in 1962, while she is at school, a white soldier named John comes to her room to meet her roommate. There is mutual attraction, and soon they are engaged to be married. Melba relates how she keeps in touch with Link during this time. But when Link hears that she is getting married, and to a white man, he is furious, as Melba had always maintained she could not date a white man. They never speak again. Six months later, Melba and John are married. They have a daughter named Kelli. Seven years after their daughter’s

Waking up, it was the first time in months I haven't had a dream or memory. It made me nervous, but I shrugged it off. Boston. He was the one person on my mind. So many questions and yet no answers.

I knew Esther and I were in the right class when you told about Kallie. I glanced over at my beautiful daughter sitting beside me, she has lived her entire 23 years in chronic pain.....she has cats, they sleep with her, they are her babies, these kitties have brought comfort to her over the years. I see her holding one of them at times with tears in her eyes. I see the comfort they give her. I teared up when you told your story about Kallie and I wondered if Esther was touched. She was.

Camira walked silently with the other girls along the corridor the queen was leading them down. Camira studied the walls. The other corridor had paintings, whereas this one had maps. Lots of maps.

Sitting in a chair in my study, I stared out into the vast landscape of Grand Isle from a gaunt window. Staring as intently as this, people would think one as insane. I can assure you that I am not insane. I simply would just stare at the ocean and listen to its wave’s crash upon the shore. It was loud and angry, as if taking one's wife was not enough to satisfy it. I suppose it was something that Edna had in common with the ocean; they were both ludicrous. It only took me so long to see the comparison. To see what they were really like.

He was worn out, his hand hurt badly, and now he had to fight for his life with one of those enormous warriors.

    Samantha is a Middle class girl who has an identical twin brother Sam and two loving parents. Her best friend is Naomi, they have known each other since kindergarten. Samantha is 17 years old, she was born on October 31, 1998. They live in Bloodville, New York. Samantha and Naomi are the most popular girls in school. Her brother Sam is popular too but he is a nerd also. He likes to hunt vampires and werewolves. Samantha doesn’t know how her life is going to end up just by protecting someone she loves.

No matter how harsh she scrubs, her hands will constantly be left tinged with the never ending reminder of her self destructive ways. It defines her. Darkness and pain, and the absolute promise of no tomorrow. That's all she is now. She sits upon the edge of the rooftop, peering down onto her eventual fate. Ariana is broken, and she knows that full well. A half-empty bottle of vodka is warm beneath her palms—the only part of her that is—and she takes a long swig, wondering how much it will take to drown herself. She wants to be strong again; she wants to feel the adrenaline of confidence pulsing through her and stunning those around her. She wants to smile and let it reach her eyes. She wants to clean her hands— those dirty hands that have

In The beginning of the story , Melba was excited but cautious about integration. She and sixteen other students decided to sign-up to integrate Central High . Due to the threats and unwanted phone calls , students began to drop out. So that is when we got the “Little Rock Nine”. At this point Melba began to have doubts in herself and signing up to integrate. The governor sent the national guard to “protect” them however they were actually trying to keep them out of the school. A few days later , they decided to let them attend school . Melba began to get nervous to see what was to come. But melba had no idea what Central High had in store for her.

There are countless people in the world who have shown extremely strong values of persistence and hope, and learning about where these values come from can help us bring them out in ourselves. In the novel Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Pattillo Beals, Melba faces numerous hardships while attending Central High School. However, her motivation to continue attending despite the hardships come from multiple different sources. Melba is motivated by strong spiritual values and the belief that God is on her side. She is also motivated by her family and friends, including Grandma India, Mother Lois as well as Melba’s boyfriend Vince. Finally, she is driven because she knows that her actions are helping African-American society as a whole and that she is making a sacrifice for the greater good. It is important to understand Melba’s motivations because if she did not persist so well, integration may not have been possible.