The Little Rock Nine:

• Minnijean Brown• Elizabeth Eckford• Ernest Green• Thelma Mothershed Wair• Melba Patillo Beals• Carlotta Walls LaNier• Terrence Roberts• Jefferson Thomas• Gloria Cecelia Ray

Historical Context: Key Moments in the Civil Rights Movement

These are key moments that lead up to the historical time that Warriors Don’t Cry takes place.

1) May 18, 1896: In Plessy vs. Ferguson, the US Supreme Court rules that “Separate but Equal Facilities” are legal.

2) May 1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its first national conference.

3) May 17, 1954: In Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the US Supreme Court rules

that “Separate but Equal” does not apply to public education, overturning Plessy vs. Ferguson. 4) Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on the

bus for a white man. The resulting bus boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, lasts a year. 5) Jan. 23, 1956: Daisy Bates tries to lead 27 Black students into “White” schools in Little Rock,

Arkansas. They are refused entry.

•MeMelba Pattillo Beals

Born in 1941 and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas

Volunteered to attend Central High at the age of 13

One of the “Little Rock Nine”—nine students who attended Central High School during the 1957-58 school year

With help from the NAACP, completed high school in Santa Rosa, CA while living with a white family

Attended San Francisco State University, and Columbia University

Worked as a Journalist before writing Warriors Don’t Cry

Lives in San Francisco, CA and teaches Journalism at the university level

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL: LITTLE ROCK, AK•Still a high school in AK

•School Website: http://www.lrcentralhigh.org/

•2006—ranked 94th high school in the nation