“I got up every morning, polished my saddle shoes, and went off to war.”-Melba Pattillo. Those are words straight from the mouth of Little Rock High School integrating “lab rats.” She was the kind of warrior that took mental bullets, and dodged them. Almost every white person in that school verbally and even physically abused them. All she wanted was to learn and help her people mix in and create equality with everyone else. When you feel like school is similar to going to war, you must stay within your own thoughts and, like Melba did, keep on fighting for what you believe in. In this case, it is integration at one of the largest schools in the nation- Little Rock High.
Melba was not the type to shoot a gun, but she had some weapons that literally kept her alive. The saying, “kill them with kindness,” is exactly her game plan. She is very good at hiding her true emotions from all of the …show more content…
Melba was mentally abused, like being called things like nigger, stupid, fat, and so many other very mean things. She also took a huge amount of physical abuse. The whites went to large extents to sabotage the blacks. For example, Melba was using the restroom and some girls trapped her in the stall and threw flaming pieces of toilet paper into the small area that she was enclosed in. The bullies also cornered her, spit on her, threw things at her, slapped her, and so much more. She fought the battle of being a teenager that never went out or did anything because she would not be safe in public or in front of segregationists. She fought to stay in touch with her boyfriend, Vince. She wanted to but she grew distant for reasons such as them not having anything in common. She also struggled with trying to please her Grandma India. Her Grandma had told her not ever to cry because “warriors don’t cry.” Melba had to be especially brave because Grandma India was not easily