May 17, 1994, marks the fortieth anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, which was argued and won by Thurgood
Marshall, whose passion and presence emboldened the Little Rock struggle. The paper examines Melba Patillo Beals commemoration of the milestone decision in her first-person account of the violent confrontation that helped shape the civil rights
movement. In "Warriors Don't Cry" by Melba Patillo Beals, Beals' depiction of racism in Little Rock, Arkansas, reveals that she was not only a student during the Civil Rights Movement but also had to be a warrior who fought against segregation in the South. By examining Beals' memoirs, the paper shows how her real life
experiences, particularly her experiences with desegregation, closely approximate the idea of a warrior.