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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who yelled to Melba, "Now you've had your lesson. You don't have to go back to that awful school anymore"?

2. What did Melba recite to herself to keep her focus?

3. Where was the Arkansas governor's retreat?

4. Which reporter was beaten and shown in a picture with a white man riding on him piggyback?

5. Who was the soldier assigned to Melba?

Short Essay Questions

1. One day in October the attacks against the students were so severe that what happened?

2. Melba felts lonely at school. Why?

3. What was President Eisenhower's response regarding Central High school integration and the mobs in Little Rock?

4. What was the "heel-walking committee"?

5. Who was Gene Smith and what impression did Melba have of him?

6. What led to Minnijean's suspension?

7. What was the downside to newspapers running articles about the Little Rock Nine?

8. Who participated in the heart-to-heart talk with hard core school segregationists? Did the talk help?

9. What happened to Melba when saluting the flag?

10. Why didn't anyone but Vince show up at Melba's Sixteenth birthday party?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Melba's mother stated that "we live in a country where the law and the Constitution prevail." Compare and contrast the mother's statement with the events in which the state government was battling the federal government.

Essay Topic 2

One of the most enduring images from Little Rock's Central High School was the very first day when Elizabeth Eckford, a young, small girl, was surrounded by angry, yelling white people. Find a copy of this image and write about how it makes you feel.

Essay Topic 3

In 1954, the monumental court case, Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court stated that "separate but equal" was now unconstitutional and that public schools must integrate. What was the "separate but equal" doctrine and why was it impossible to have both "separate" and "equal"? Why was this decision significant for Melba and her family?

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This section contains 841 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample