Publisher Description
Long before she was one of the Little Rock Nine, Melba Pattillo Beals was a warrior. Frustrated by the laws that kept African-Americans separate but very much unequal to whites, she had questions: Why couldn't she drink from a whites only fountain? Why couldn't she feel safe beyond home-or even within the walls of church? Adults all told her: Hold your tongue. Be patient. Know your place. But Beals had the heart of a fighter-and the knowledge that her true place was a free one. This memoir paints a vivid picture of Beals's powerful early journey on the road to becoming a champion for equal rights, an acclaimed journalist, a bestselling author, and the recipient of this country's highest recognition, the Congressional Gold Medal.
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About Melba Pattillo Beals
Melba Patillo Beals is the author of several books, including Warriors Don’t Cry, winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award and the American Library Association Award. She received this country’s highest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, for her role, as a fifteen-year-old, in the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. A retired university professor with a doctorate in international multicultural education, she is a former KQED television broadcaster, NBC television news reporter, ABC radio talk-show host, and writer for various magazines, including Family Circle and People.
About Janina Edwards
Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.