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What did Melba Pattillo accomplish?
Melba Joy Pattillo Beals (born December 7, 1941) is an American journalist and educator who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African-American students who were the first to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Why is Melba Pattillo Beals a hero?
Melba Pattillo Beals is an inspiration to all, being able to survive the abuse at Central High and having the courage to go to an all-white school, which was extremely dangerous at the time. Her bravery and resilience impacted the way African American students are treated.
How did Little Rock Nine affect the civil rights movement?
The Little Rock Nine became an integral part of the fight for equal opportunity in American education when they dared to challenge public school segregation by enrolling at the all-white Central High School in 1957. Their appearance and award are part of the Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette.
When was Melba born and what was significant about the day?
Melba Patillo Beals was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock, Arkansas, on the same day that Japanese troops bombed the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor (now called Pearl Harbor Day). The first-born child of Lois and Will Patillo, Beals was born with a scalp infection, which caused significant complications.
What did Melba Pattillo Beals do for a living?
She has worked as a communications consultant, a motivational speaker, and as a reporter for San Francisco’s public television station and for the Bay Area’s NBC affiliate. Beals was the first of the Little Rock Nine to write a book based on her experiences at Central High.
Who was Melba Pattillo’s mother Lois Marie Pattillo?
Her mother, Lois Marie Pattillo, PhD, was one of the first black graduates of the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) in 1954 and was a high school English teacher at the time of the crisis. Her father, Howell Pattillo, worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Where did Melba Pattillo go to high school?
Barred from entering Central High the next year when the city’s schools were closed, Pattillo moved to Santa Rosa, California, to live with a sponsoring family who were members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for her senior year of high school. In 1961, Pattillo married John Beals.
How old was Melba Pattillo Beals when Brown vs Board of Education?
Melba Pattillo Beals. Melba was 12 years old on May 17, 1954 — the date the Supreme Court ruled in “Brown vs. Board of Education” that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Just over a year later, on May 24, 1955, the Little Rock school board adopted a plan to limit integration to Central High School,…