Becoming a Warrior

Melba first volunteered to attend Central High because she wanted to go to a better school. For years, she listened to black cooks and custodians describe this amazing school. Central High has typewriters, a home economics room with a real kitchen, and other wonderful things that Melba never had in her all-black high school.

But in the months Melba spends at Central High, her goal changes. Attending this school is no longer just about an opportunity for her. It's about an opportunity for her race.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. meets with Melba and the other members of the Little Rock Nine. He tells them they are "fighting for generations not yet born." At age sixteen, Melba becomes a fighter for the right of African-American children to get the same education as white children.