The Lions Of Little Rock

When Liz and Marlee meet next at the rock crusher, Marlee proposes that they catch crawdads. Liz is frightened of the tiny creatures but agrees to catch them if Marlee will face a similar phobia and climb a tree. Both girls succeed in facing their fears that afternoon. From the top of the tree, Marlee says:

The view was beautiful. In one direction, I could see the large rock we liked to sit on, and in the other, the rolling Arkansas hills. The late-afternoon sun turned all the new light green leaves to gold, like King Midas had been walking through the forest (185).  

The night of the roller-skating party, Marlee is horrified to realize that Red will be driving her and JT to the event. Red demands to know if Marlee is still seeing Liz. When she refuses to answer, JT tells his brother to leave her alone. Later at the rink, Marlee gets into a fight with JT because he’s prejudiced against Liz. She calls her mother to pick her up early. On the way out of the rink, Jimmy intercepts Marlee and confesses that he wanted to ask her to come to the party with him. She says she wishes he had.

When Mrs. Nisbett drives Marlee home, the girl finally works up the courage to tell her mother everything about Red’s harassment and JT’s math cheating. Marlee is mystified by her mother’s response: “I waited for her to lecture me about cheating on homework, or say I shouldn’t be scared of Red, or at least ask what I meant about Sally’s hair. But Mother didn’t. She didn’t say another word” (194).

Judy returns home briefly from Pine Bluff and proposes that she and Marlee take the bus to visit David at college. On the way, Judy confesses that her boyfriend broke up with her. The sisters bond over that disclosure. When they meet David, he tells them about a move by the governor to learn if any state employees belong to integrationist organizations. Even though it’s illegal, he will use that information as a pretext to fire them, which puts Mr. Nisbett’s job at risk.

Every Sunday afternoon, Marlee spends time working with the WEC committee. As she assists with opening correspondence, she comes across pieces of hate mail. She asks if the committee members aren’t scared. They say they are, but it won’t stop them from doing what’s right.

JT and Red’s mother, Mrs. Dalton, confesses that she found Ku Klux Klan robes in a closet at her home but joined WEC because she needed to take a stand on the issue of racism. Miss Winthrop asks her, “‘If your husband is part of the Klan […] aren’t you worried he’ll find out you’re helping us?’ ‘Yes, I was.’ Mrs. Dalton shook her head. ‘But according to him, this is just a ladies group. Harmless. We won’t accomplish anything’” (203).

On Tuesday, Marlee goes to the rock crusher to meet Liz. The latter has already climbed to the top of a tree and is hiding in the foliage. Marlee is about to climb up to join her when Red and JT arrive. Red asks if she’s come to meet her colored friend. Marlee lies and says nobody else is around. She stomps off, hoping to draw Red and JT after her but accidentally trips over a box left from the quarry mining operation. It contains dynamite. Red takes the box and makes a threat: “We’ll find your little friend and show her whole family what we think of niggers who try to pass” (208). When Marlee returns home, still shaken by the threat, Betty Jean notices how upset she is and asks for an explanation.

After telling the whole story to Betty Jean, Marlee then repeats it for her parents and to a police sergeant, who takes the threat seriously. Mr. Nisbett wants to send Marlee to Pine Bluff where she’ll be safe, although she doesn’t want to go. Liz’s family will be watched over by neighbors, and police patrols will be increased in the area.

After dinner, Miss Winthrop arrives with more alarming news. The school board can’t agree on anything. The pro-segregation faction has declared a quorum and fired all school officials and teachers who are in favor of integration. The local PTA is meeting that night to discuss this illegal move. Mrs. Nisbett says, “We […] are going to that meeting. I was president of the Forest Park PTA, and I have a few things I want to say” (214).

The auditorium is packed when the family arrives for the PTA meeting. As Mrs. Nisbett waits for her turn to speak, she fidgets nervously until Marlee gives her Liz’s crow feather as a lucky talisman. Once she takes the stage, Mrs. Nisbett says that it’s time for everyone to speak up even if they are afraid of consequences: “I’m not going to pretend that isn’t a risk, because it is. But it’s time. Time to take a stand. The risks—to our students, to our schools, to our town’s reputation—are too great if we stand aside and say nothing” (217). She then credits Marlee for giving her the courage to speak up and reads the Bible quotation that her daughter slipped into her purse months earlier. At the end of her speech, the entire auditorium applauds.

Back at home that night, Marlee insists on staying with her parents instead of hiding out in Pine Bluff. She believes it’s important to take a stand. Her father agrees but insists that she not see Liz anymore. As a compromise, Marlee proposes that she be allowed to talk to Liz on the phone if her parents consent. Mr. Nisbett says he will ask them the following morning.

That night, Marlee thanks her mother for her support. Mrs. Nisbett says, “I figured […] if you could work up the courage to tell me the truth about JT, you were brave enough to stay home” (220).

The next morning, Marlee is allowed to have a short phone conversation with Liz. They agree that this is best for now and hope that one day they’ll be able to meet by the lion cage at the zoo. At school that day, JT talks to Marlee about calling the police. He apologizes for Red’s threats and says he doesn’t want any Negroes to get hurt.

Later at home, Marlee finds her parents happily forming a new committee called STOP—Stop This Outrageous Purge. Its purpose is to start a petition for a special school board election that will require signatures from fifteen percent of the voters in Little Rock. Marlee thinks:

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my parents like this. Working together on a project. Enthusiastic like Judy about Pine Bluff before Robert Laurence dumped her. It was kind of nice. In any case, this sounded like the best chance we’d had in ages (224-25).

The next day, Marlee and her mother both decide to skip school to work on circulating the petition. Some neighbors are cooperative, while others are rude. While making their rounds, Marlee crosses paths with Sally, who is helping her mother petition for segregation. Marlee also finds flyers asking people to join the KKK.

At school the next day, she encounters JT, who is sporting a black eye. He confesses that Red hit him because he thought JT informed on him to the police. JT says that Red still has the dynamite in the trunk of his car. When Marlee rushes home to tell her father, he calls the police, who say they already searched Red’s car and found nothing. Mr. Nisbett tries to reassure his daughter: “‘Try not to worry. The grown-ups will take charge of things.’ I nodded, but what I was really thinking was, So far they aren’t doing a very good job” (231).