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2. “One n***** down, eight to go.”

This is the chant recited by the segregationists at Central High School after a handful of them managed to drive Minnijean out in Chapter 23. The Little Rock Nine have been warned time and time again not to retaliate. A few students push Minnijean too far one day, and she dumps soup on them. She is suspended, and when she returns to school, she becomes a target for all of the fury of the segregationist students. They have learned that they can provoke her, and they do. Minnijean eventually fights back again, and she is expelled. Overjoyed at their success, the segregationists begin taunting the other Black students with this chant. For the segregationists, it is proof that they can get rid of the black students. To the remaining members of the Little Rock Nine, it is a reminder of how strong they have to be and how harsh the consequences will be if they falter.

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