Description
Long before she used to be one of the most Little Rock Nine, Melba Pattillo Beals used to be 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 protected beyond home—and even inside 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 used to be a free one.
Combined with emotive drawings and photos, this memoir paints a vivid picture of Beals’ powerful early journey at the road to becoming a champion for equal rights, an acclaimed journalist, a best-selling writer, and the recipient of this country’s highest recognition, the Congressional Gold Medal.