What is the meaning of the title Warriors Don't Cry?

This phrase comes from Melba Pattillo Beals's grandmother, who told her, "Even when the battle is long and the path is steep, a true warrior does not give up" (page 3). On the first day that Melba and the other students in the Little Rock Nine attempt to enter Central High School, they are prevented from doing so by a mob that isolates one of the students, Elizabeth Eckford. In response, Melba is understandably upset. Her grandmother, Grandma India, tells Melba that this will be the last time Melba cries. She says, "You're a warrior on the battlefield for your Lord. God's warriors don't cry 'cause they trust he's always on their side" (page 57). Her grandmother's words become a rallying cry for Melba, and she thinks of them often when she faces violence, harassment, and intimidation during the year she integrates Central High School with the other students in the Little Rock Nine.