All Melba Beals wanted to do was to go to school and be able to get an education. Unfortunately, some people tried to stop her from achieving this only because she was black. She and nine other African Americans violence, name-calling, harassment, and ridicule that was so bad that the president had to send soldiers to school to protect them. After the soldiers were gone it got even worse. When they tried to get help from the school officials, they were called tattletales and liars by the people they were supposed to be able to trust and turn to for help. What was done to them was very unfair. They were treated like this only because of the color of their skin. The kids who were treating them like this had no reason to disrespect them other than the fact that they were not the same color. There were some kids who did try to help out by walking down the hall with them and being friendly towards them, but eventually the number of friendly people became fewer and fewer. I think a lot of the kids were just following the crowd. The "leaders" decided to treat the African Americans horribly, so everyone else followed them. Unfortunately, this was a time when African Americans were treated badly no matter where they went. I think Melba and the others were very brave to do what they did. I am sure the idea of quiting and going home went through their minds more than once, but they knew that if they left, they would lose their battle. They were doing this not only for themselves but for everyone who wanted to be treated equally. They were warriors for everyone else who has had to face racism.
