Melba Pattillo Beals, born on December 17,1941, is an American woman who was a part of the Little Rock Nine. The Little Rock Nine was a group of students of color who were the first to integrate schools in Little Rock, Arkansas two years after the Brown vs. Board of Education case .The Brown vs. Board of Education case was a trial that wanted to get rid of segregation in schools. It also wanted to get rid of "separate but equal" because people of color were not being treated equally. They did not have the high rank facilities that white people had, instead they had dingier spaces made for them that was marked "colored". Once it was announced that they needed volunteers, Melba signed up to integrate Central High. She was inspired in part by a family trip to Cincinnati, where people of color were treated well. In cincinnati, people of color did not get hateful looks from white people and they were able to go many places were the white people went. Also they were somewhat respected by white people. She agreed to integrate the school in hopes that she would one day be treated as an equal.
