Warriors Don't Cry

The expression “our people” is a motif Melba uses throughout the narrative. These are primarily references to the Black citizens of Little Rock. Melba uses the expression most frequently when she is apart from her home and finds herself in a group setting. Often the term conveys a sense of relief arising from Melba’s recognition that she is not the only Black person present. For example, when the Little Rock Nine attend a federal hearing concerning Governor Faubus’s justification for calling out the National Guard, Melba notes, “I was glad to see that a good number of the spectators were our people” (63). The use of the term becomes more specifically a reference to those Black citizens who favor integration as the narrative progresses, since some Black residents come to resent the nine for the turmoil that descends upon Little Rock because of the school integration struggle. A slight variation of this expression comes when Melba attends a special Christmas party thrown for the nine by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority of professional Black Women. She writes, “Tonight I feel love from my own people” (153).

Melba also occasionally uses the term to refer to Black citizens in general. One use of this happens when she discusses a broadcaster’s reference to Little Rock not experiencing the lynching of a Black person for 10 years. From her earliest years, Melba has a clear sense of racial identity. She understands that white people have privileges that “our people” do not yet have, though, as India assures, one day they will.