Read chapters 1-5
Content Summary for Teachers
1
The first chapter of the memoir opens with a summary of what happened in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 following the Supreme Court decision to integrate schools. Melba reflects on her experiences, stating that she would do it all over again and how she believes things are still changing for the better.
Melba almost died as a baby due to racist nurses and upon receiving word 15 years later that Melba had been selected to integrate Central High, her grandmother claimed this was why her life had been spared all those years ago. She was “to carry this banner for our people.”
2
Melba was afraid of white people by the time she was three. She...
