Warriors Don’t Cry

by

Melba Beals

Melba’s mother Lois is a determined woman who protects Melba from violent segregationists. She was one of the first black students to integrate the University of Arkansas, from which she graduated in 1954. She teaches seventh-grade English while attending night school to get her Master’s degree. Due to her love of literature, Melba recalls that their shelves were stocked with books from authors that both Mother Lois and Grandma India loved, including Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and James Weldon Johnson. She and Melba’s father, Howell, got divorced when Melba was seven. Mother Lois raises Melba and Melba’s brother, Conrad, with the help of Melba’s grandmother, Grandma India.

Mother Lois Quotes in Warriors Don’t Cry

The Warriors Don’t Cry quotes below are all either spoken by Mother Lois or refer to Mother Lois. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Living Under Jim Crow Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

My grandmother India always said God had pointed a finger at our family, asking for just a bit more discipline, more praying, and more hard work because he had blessed us with good health and good brains. My mother was one of the first few blacks to integrate the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1954. Three years later, when Grandma discovered I would be one of the first blacks to attend Central High School, she said the nightmare that had surrounded my birth was proof positive that destiny had assigned me a special task.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois, Grandma India
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

When Mrs. Bates asked, “Do you kids want white meat or dark meat?” I spoke without thinking: “This is an integrated turkey.” The annoyed expression on her face matched the one on Mother’s, letting me know that maybe I should have prepared a speech. The reporters began snickering as they posed a series of questions on turkeys and integration, calling on me by name to answer. My palms began sweating, and my mouth turned dry. I hadn’t meant to put my foot in my mouth. I didn’t want the others to think I was trying to steal the spotlight, but once I had spoken out of turn, “integrated turkey” became the theme. “You’ll live to regret that statement, Melba,” Mother said as we were driving home. I knew she was agonizing over the consequences of my frivolity. She was right. I would suffer.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois (speaker), Daisy Bates (speaker)
Page Number: 137-138
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

Sweet sixteen? How could I be turning sweet sixteen in just a few days and be a student at Central High, I thought as I entered the side door of the school […]. I had relished so many dreams of how sweet my sixteenth year would be, and now it had arrived, but I was here in this place. Sixteen had always seemed the magic age that signaled the beginning of freedom, when Mama and Grandma might let loose their hold and let me go out with my friends on pre-dates. But with integration, I was nowhere near being free.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois, Grandma India
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mother Lois Quotes in Warriors Don’t Cry

The Warriors Don’t Cry quotes below are all either spoken by Mother Lois or refer to Mother Lois. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Living Under Jim Crow Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

My grandmother India always said God had pointed a finger at our family, asking for just a bit more discipline, more praying, and more hard work because he had blessed us with good health and good brains. My mother was one of the first few blacks to integrate the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1954. Three years later, when Grandma discovered I would be one of the first blacks to attend Central High School, she said the nightmare that had surrounded my birth was proof positive that destiny had assigned me a special task.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois, Grandma India
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

When Mrs. Bates asked, “Do you kids want white meat or dark meat?” I spoke without thinking: “This is an integrated turkey.” The annoyed expression on her face matched the one on Mother’s, letting me know that maybe I should have prepared a speech. The reporters began snickering as they posed a series of questions on turkeys and integration, calling on me by name to answer. My palms began sweating, and my mouth turned dry. I hadn’t meant to put my foot in my mouth. I didn’t want the others to think I was trying to steal the spotlight, but once I had spoken out of turn, “integrated turkey” became the theme. “You’ll live to regret that statement, Melba,” Mother said as we were driving home. I knew she was agonizing over the consequences of my frivolity. She was right. I would suffer.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois (speaker), Daisy Bates (speaker)
Page Number: 137-138
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

Sweet sixteen? How could I be turning sweet sixteen in just a few days and be a student at Central High, I thought as I entered the side door of the school […]. I had relished so many dreams of how sweet my sixteenth year would be, and now it had arrived, but I was here in this place. Sixteen had always seemed the magic age that signaled the beginning of freedom, when Mama and Grandma might let loose their hold and let me go out with my friends on pre-dates. But with integration, I was nowhere near being free.

Related Characters: Melba Pattillo Beals (speaker), Mother Lois, Grandma India
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis: