Melba The Protagonist

Melba Pattillo Beals- A junior when she entered Central High School, Melba did a lot of growing up that year. With the Supreme Court overturning their decision, the same day of that decision, on her way home from school she was attacked and almost raped. She endured a lot of harassment that year. She got her heels stepped on between every class and was singed by the water when she tried to shower after gym class. She had all her clothes sprayed on by ink and she got her eyes sprayed with acid which caused her to have to wear glasses. That same year she lived through what was supposed to be the happiest time of a girls live. She got her first boyfriend and had her first date, but all she could ever think about was how she was going to make it through her next day. Although eventually she did happen to make a friend (Link) that helped her by telling her places to avoid, he could not be seen in public with her. That year Melba turned 16 and though that year she had nobody attend her party due to the fact that they were scared to come over to her house due to all the bomb threats everybody especially the Little Rock Nine were receiving. Everyday became a struggle for Melba, she woke-up, got dressed and went to school were she tried to make herself not seen to avoid the harassment, then she had to give interviews to reporters (which she had determined that that was her future job), and then went home to an endless ringing phone from threats or plain old hang ups. That year she had to due without a lot of the teenage things, once her friend Minnijean was expelled, she had no one to talk to, at home or at school. After that terrible year Melba spent at Central, she did not return there for her senior year....uhgkghilk,ghoktgi,kutki7rfiyfiyufgik,ughklh;./pik'/p[l

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