Warriors Don't Cry: Chapters 22–28

by Melba Pattillo Beals
In 1957, Melba Pattillo was one of a group of teenagers who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In this memoir, she describes her fight to survive and thrive in the sometimes violent aftermath of the Supreme Court decision that declared segregation unconstitutional.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 2, Chapters 3–8, Chapters 9–16, Chapters 17–21, Chapters 22–28
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incite
    provoke or stir up
    The rumor was that the White Citizens Council would pay reward money to the person who could incite us to misbehave and get ourselves expelled.
  2. proviso
    a stipulated condition
    On Monday, January 6, Minnijean and her parents met with Superintendent Blossom. She was allowed to return to school Monday, January 13, with the proviso that she not respond to her attackers in any way.
  3. boisterous
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    Large, boisterous groups of hecklers stared intensely and harassed the living daylights out of us.
  4. liaison
    a means of communication between groups
    I could also see the fear in Mrs. Huckaby's eyes. Somehow in the course of time, she had become our liaison to the other school officials.
  5. smolder
    have strong suppressed feelings
    We would meet each other coming in and going out with our complaints, sometimes teary-eyed, sometimes smoldering with anger.
  6. impasse
    a situation in which no progress can be made
    When it came to Minnijean's suspension, segregationists were like sharks who tasted a drop of blood in the water. Their determination to have their kill—to see her gone—brought us to an impasse.
  7. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
    Ernie had so much trouble with students stealing his gym clothes that he bought his own, which he carried with him in a briefcase until someone wrested it away and stuffed his clothes into the toilet in the girls' rest room.
  8. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    The car careened into our yard.
  9. hodgepodge
    a motley assortment of things
    Even above the ear-shattering levels of conversation that blended into a hodgepodge of unsettling noise, I could hear my attackers' comments shouted at me.
  10. huffy
    quick to take offense
    Grandma India would hand me the receiver with a scowl on her face, but neither she nor Mother Lois forbade my talking with him. Sometimes Grandma even stood by, listening to the entire conversation, with arms folded and a huffy attitude.
  11. befall
    become of; happen to
    Sometimes he justified what he was doing by saying if he protected me and prevented a major catastrophe from befalling any of the eight of us, he could insure some of his normal graduation activities, and besides, people wouldn't think Central such an awful place.
  12. hearten
    give encouragement to
    The Little Rock School Board now demanded belligerent students be brought under control. At first we saw no difference, but we began to notice a slight bit of peace in the hallways, and we were heartened to hear that another girl had been expelled for handing out the cards saying "One Down, Eight to Go."
  13. veneer
    coating consisting of a thin layer of wood
    There they were in the center of the room, the old trunks given to Grandma India as a young girl. One was a deep brown, with scrapes and scratches visible beneath the glossy veneer she kept up with biannual waxing.
  14. avid
    ardently or excessively desirous
    Meanwhile, avid segregationists were fueling the battle against us by regularly appearing on television in order to enroll more people outside school to fight against us.
  15. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    The church was filled to the rafters with people we didn't see during all the rest of the year.
  16. vicarious
    experienced at secondhand
    I felt a vicarious delight just being near the excitement.
  17. lather
    agitation resulting from active worry
    It seemed like whenever I reported anything to her, she would work herself up into a lather: I was seeing things; was I being too sensitive, did I have specific details?
  18. dispassionate
    unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
    I desperately tried to understand how such an intelligent woman could be reasonable and understanding one moment, then seem so cold, distant, and dispassionate the next.
  19. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    Her appearance was immaculate, her posture was erect, and she tilted her chin upward, demonstrating her own dignity and pride despite her circumstances.
  20. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Suddenly her emaciated body was racked with a cough.
  21. adversary
    someone who offers opposition
    Some of our regular adversaries complained loud and long about how the inclusion of some of our pictures had tainted their precious yearbook.
  22. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    "I read the articles about you in the newspapers, and we've gotten a lot of calls. Now you've gone and riled up the bishops from your community."
  23. accolade
    a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
    "I assume your accolades will be forthcoming in writing," Mama replied.
  24. condescend
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    Thomas had met with those people from our community who condescended to meet with him.
  25. antagonist
    someone who offers opposition
    In case that plan failed, our antagonists worked at convincing us that even if Ernie had the grades to graduate, he should not march with the other seniors to receive his Central High diploma.
  26. baccalaureate
    farewell address to a graduating class at their commencement
    Ernie would attend baccalaureate services the following Sunday evening, and graduation would be the following Tuesday, one week from this day.
  27. whim
    an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
    "But nothing. This is no time to satisfy a whim and unravel everything you've accomplished. There'll be enough of a circus, what with the soldiers, FBI, city police, and who knows all."
  28. hobnob
    associate familiarly, especially with someone of high status
    We hobnobbed backstage with Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalban at their Broadway play Jamaica.
  29. bounty
    payment or reward for acts such as catching criminals
    The unrest in Little Rock and the bounty on our heads had by that time forced two of our seven families to move their homes away from that city forever.
  30. unconditional
    not subject to any restrictions or limitations
    More than their guidance, it was their unconditional love that taught me the true meaning of equality.
  31. bask
    derive or receive pleasure from
    To this day I call them Mom and Pop and visit to bask in their love and enjoy the privilege of being treated as though I am their daughter.
  32. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
    Not until September, 1960, did the NAACP, with its tenacious legal work, force Central High to open to integration once more—but only two black students were permitted entry.
  33. unmitigated
    not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity
    When I ask my mother about it, she says none of them honestly believed Governor Faubus had the unmitigated gall to use the troops to keep us out.
  34. gall
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
    When I ask my mother about it, she says none of them honestly believed Governor Faubus had the unmitigated gall to use the troops to keep us out.
  35. contend
    maintain or assert
    Many historians contend it was a brilliant stroke on the governor's part suddenly to remove the Arkansas National Guard from around Central High School in response to Judge Ronald Davies's ruling for integration on Friday, September 20, 1957.
  36. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    I marvel at the fact that in the midst of this historic confrontation, we nine teenagers weren't maimed or killed.
  37. enclave
    an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct
    In 1962, when I had attended the mostly white San Francisco State University for two years, I found myself living among an enclave of students where I was the only person of color.
  38. fatigues
    military uniform worn by personnel when doing menial labor
    One night, a brown-haired soldier wearing olive-drab fatigues stepped across the threshold of my suite.
  39. livid
    furiously angry
    He was livid about my marriage, saying I'd all along told him we couldn't date because he was white, and now look what I'd gone and done.
  40. creed
    any system of principles or beliefs
    The effort to separate ourselves whether by race, creed, color, religion, or status is as costly to the separator as to those who would be separated.
Created on Tue Sep 03 21:02:34 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Oct 16 13:42:06 EDT 2019)

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