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This Is Your Time
Written as a letter from civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges to the reader, This Is Your Time is both a recounting of Ruby’s experience as a child who had to be escorted to class by federal marshals when she was chosen to be one of the first black students to integrate into New Orleans’ all-white public school system and an appeal to generations to come to effect change.
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school.
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2020
80 people are currently reading
3420 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Bridges
10 books140 followersRuby Nell Bridges Hall is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 474 reviews
November 19, 2020
Ruby Bridges should be a more famous name in the Civil Rights Movement. Not only was she the first to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans (1960) but she was “imortalized” in a painting by Norman Rockwell that is shown (in part) on this book’s cover.
She has not sought the spotlight over the years but she created the Ruby Bridges Foundation that promotes "the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences".
Those values are evident in this well-illustrated short book designed to create a thoughtful atmosphere in which you can have a discussion with your child. There are photos of her times (and trials) of integration and of the larger Civil Rights Movement. Here is one excerpt from the book: “ I have been saying for many years how I believe racism is a grown-up disease, and we ‘adults’ must stop using you, our kids, to spread it. None of you is born into the world racist. It is we adults who pass racism on. In so many ways, we have failed you by not setting the example you deserve.”
I will make sure that my granddaughters (6 and 3 years old) have this book and that we discuss what they find curious or puzzling, but this book is intended for a slight older audience.
She has not sought the spotlight over the years but she created the Ruby Bridges Foundation that promotes "the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences".
Those values are evident in this well-illustrated short book designed to create a thoughtful atmosphere in which you can have a discussion with your child. There are photos of her times (and trials) of integration and of the larger Civil Rights Movement. Here is one excerpt from the book: “ I have been saying for many years how I believe racism is a grown-up disease, and we ‘adults’ must stop using you, our kids, to spread it. None of you is born into the world racist. It is we adults who pass racism on. In so many ways, we have failed you by not setting the example you deserve.”
I will make sure that my granddaughters (6 and 3 years old) have this book and that we discuss what they find curious or puzzling, but this book is intended for a slight older audience.
March 14, 2021
Although this is aimed at a much younger audience (kids/preteens), I think that adults should read this too. Ruby's story is so powerful and proves that 60 years later "the problem we all live with" never went away, even with legislation and a Black president. There's still SO much work to be done, and Ruby's book offers today's young activists a personal look at one of the most pivotal social/political events in the US. There's the myth that racism and prejudice are things of the past, but as "This Is Your Time" shows, they weren't that long ago and never disappeared. Racism lives on because adults pass it down to their children and grandchildren, a cycle of brutality, violence and hatred for something many people have zero control over. Nobody is born a racist, but unfortunately they learn how to be one early on.
This book is short (about 52 pages) and has photographs from the 1960s-1970s civil rights rallies and various Black Lives Matter marches. The inclusion of some photos both shocked and enraged me (the coffin one for example). And the knowledge that the school is segregated again, especially after the Bridges family's work and sacrifices, is bittersweet indeed.
The dedication was beautiful and both broke and healed my heart too.
The people united, will never be defeated. ❤️
Content warning: racism, police violence (in photographs)
This book is short (about 52 pages) and has photographs from the 1960s-1970s civil rights rallies and various Black Lives Matter marches. The inclusion of some photos both shocked and enraged me (the coffin one for example). And the knowledge that the school is segregated again, especially after the Bridges family's work and sacrifices, is bittersweet indeed.
The dedication was beautiful and both broke and healed my heart too.
The people united, will never be defeated. ❤️
Content warning: racism, police violence (in photographs)
August 21, 2023
There is a picture in this book - white parents outside William Frantz Elementary School - holding up a black doll in a coffin...how could you do this knowing a little girl would see this and know that the doll represented her. How could you do this and not think of your own children - what would you do to protect them from seeing this type of hate. Please read this with small children -some of the photographs may be overwhelming - highest reccomendation.
February 7, 2021
I must say that this was not my first introduction to Ruby Bridges. Unlike many, I am aware that she was the first African-American to integrate an all-white elementary school in the South. However, this is the first time that I am reading Ruby Bridges' own words. And, in like of recent events, it seems more appropriate than ever to read herstory from her vantage point.
It has been over 6 decades since Ms. Bridges made history. Yet, our country continues to struggle with the sins of our forefathers. I am grateful for the sacrifices that have been and continue to be made in the name of racial equality. But, I must ask: How much longer?
'You only need a heart full of grace'...It is that love and grace that allow us to see one another as brothers and sisters. It is that love and grace that will allow us to respect the many ways God has made all of us unique and will allow us to turn our stumbling blocks into stepping-stone.
It has been over 6 decades since Ms. Bridges made history. Yet, our country continues to struggle with the sins of our forefathers. I am grateful for the sacrifices that have been and continue to be made in the name of racial equality. But, I must ask: How much longer?
March 10, 2021
A truly touching, powerful, and marvelous book. Ruby Bridges writes a remembrance 60 years after she was the first black child to integrate an all-white school in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is her letter to the youth who are fighting for racial equality. Black and white photographs poignantly illustrate the time. On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby was escorted by U.S. Marshals as she was threatened, yelled at, and had things thrown at her. Teachers quit. Parents withdrew their kids. For a year she was taught alone by a white teacher from Boston, because she was not allowed to share a class with the other kids. The teacher, Barbara Henry, made a huge impact on her. Ruby was judged solely by her skin color. Her father, a Korean veteran, was fired from his job. Her courage through this terrifying experience as a young child showed what it means to be a hero. As the mother of four black sons, her eldest was killed in police custody. She believes that you are not born with racism and encourages young children to be involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Parents need to guide their children. “It is that love and grace that will allow us to see one another as brothers and sisters” and “heal this world.” A five star read.
July 31, 2025
4 stars = Fantastic and easy to recommend.
“Racism is a grown-up disease, and we “adults” must stop using you, our kids, to spread it.”
I did not realize this was a middle grade book when I checked it out from the library, but it pulled me in from the first page. Once you see the picture of Ruby’s beautiful 6 year old face, you’ll keep reading her story until you finish the book in one short sitting. This memoir is short but effective, with historical pictures of desegregation and the Civil Right’s movement in Louisiana in 1960.
It warms my heart to see the progress we have made since then. In my southern rural elementary school, my grade consisted of around 50% white students, 35% black students and 15% hispanic students. This was in the late 1980's to early 1990’s, and none of us cared what color we were. Friendships were made based on what we had in common. It was much later that I started to see racism rear its ugly head in my generation, so Ruby’s philosophy of it being a grown-up disease that is taught holds a lot of truth from my personal experiences.
The book also broke my heart to see the hatefulness and imbecility that was so prolific in her youth making a resurgence in MAGAt America. I hope today’s youth resists the ignorance and manufactured division that seems to have infected every previous generation. Enough is enough.
-----
First Sentence: To the peacemakers of America, Sixty years ago, in 1960, my life changed forever.
Favorite Quote: I don’t think they even saw a child. All they saw was the color of my skin. I was black, and that meant I didn’t matter.
“Racism is a grown-up disease, and we “adults” must stop using you, our kids, to spread it.”
I did not realize this was a middle grade book when I checked it out from the library, but it pulled me in from the first page. Once you see the picture of Ruby’s beautiful 6 year old face, you’ll keep reading her story until you finish the book in one short sitting. This memoir is short but effective, with historical pictures of desegregation and the Civil Right’s movement in Louisiana in 1960.
It warms my heart to see the progress we have made since then. In my southern rural elementary school, my grade consisted of around 50% white students, 35% black students and 15% hispanic students. This was in the late 1980's to early 1990’s, and none of us cared what color we were. Friendships were made based on what we had in common. It was much later that I started to see racism rear its ugly head in my generation, so Ruby’s philosophy of it being a grown-up disease that is taught holds a lot of truth from my personal experiences.
The book also broke my heart to see the hatefulness and imbecility that was so prolific in her youth making a resurgence in MAGAt America. I hope today’s youth resists the ignorance and manufactured division that seems to have infected every previous generation. Enough is enough.
-----
First Sentence: To the peacemakers of America, Sixty years ago, in 1960, my life changed forever.
Favorite Quote: I don’t think they even saw a child. All they saw was the color of my skin. I was black, and that meant I didn’t matter.
February 28, 2022
"Written as a letter from civil rights activist and icon Ruby Bridges to the reader, This Is Your Time is both a recounting of Ruby’s experience as a child who had to be escorted to class by federal marshals when she was chosen to be one of the first black students to integrate into New Orleans’ all-white public school system and an appeal to generations to come to effect change.
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school."
This volume features photographs from the 1960s and from today, as well as jacket art from The Problem We All Live With, the 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell depicting Ruby’s walk to school."
September 2, 2023
This audio is only about 13 minutes long, and I listened to it on the way to the grocery store yesterday. And for such a short story, it really packed a punch. I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to be 6 years old and having to be escorted by 4 U.S. Marshalls to school because grown fucking adults are so insanely hateful that they would attack a child.
For this little girl to be more mature and brave, it just leaves me in awe. For her legacy to be one of bravery for something that she didn't even have the chance to choose for herself, and for that to steer the course of her life, and for her to pick up that torch from her younger self and keep carrying it on, and to use the decades between then and now in inspiring and teaching new generations of children to take it from her and carry it... I am in awe.
I can't imagine being that brave, because I have never had to be. I hate that she did.
For this little girl to be more mature and brave, it just leaves me in awe. For her legacy to be one of bravery for something that she didn't even have the chance to choose for herself, and for that to steer the course of her life, and for her to pick up that torch from her younger self and keep carrying it on, and to use the decades between then and now in inspiring and teaching new generations of children to take it from her and carry it... I am in awe.
I can't imagine being that brave, because I have never had to be. I hate that she did.
December 6, 2020
A small, compact book that packs a very powerful punch.
May 26, 2021
For ages 8 to 98. (No younger; you're already doing anti-racism stuff with them that is not quite as brutal as some of the photos here, right?). Very short. Make sure your library, and your children's library, has a copy. Read it carefully with your children as soon as you feel up to helping them deal with the frustration, fear, and other feelings it will invoke.
I was saddened to learn about that black doll in a coffin that the protestors used. As if the tomatoes and profanity, etc., wasn't enough.
I am invigorated to think that this will inspire children, as the author intends, to be as brave as she, and her parents, and her teacher, and the first white children to return to school, were. Did you know her father had a Purple Heart from Korea, but was fired for sending Ruby to a desegregated school?
I especially liked learning that Rockwell left the SEP because they didn't want political art like this, and so he went to Look, where this was then published. The name of this work is The Problem We All Live With.
Don't miss a word. Or an image. Examine it, savor it, reread your favorite bits and your child's favorite bits. Study the pictures, at least the hopeful ones.
Read it in paper; another reviewer says the kindle version suffers.
I was saddened to learn about that black doll in a coffin that the protestors used. As if the tomatoes and profanity, etc., wasn't enough.
I am invigorated to think that this will inspire children, as the author intends, to be as brave as she, and her parents, and her teacher, and the first white children to return to school, were. Did you know her father had a Purple Heart from Korea, but was fired for sending Ruby to a desegregated school?
I especially liked learning that Rockwell left the SEP because they didn't want political art like this, and so he went to Look, where this was then published. The name of this work is The Problem We All Live With.
Don't miss a word. Or an image. Examine it, savor it, reread your favorite bits and your child's favorite bits. Study the pictures, at least the hopeful ones.
Read it in paper; another reviewer says the kindle version suffers.
January 2, 2021
This is a perfect book for children. The audiobook, narrated by Ruby Bridges, is special, but so is the physical copy as it features amazing pictures of the ‘60s civil rights movement and our current day BLM protests. I love the message of this book and how explicitly Bridges wrote it for the young peacemakers of the world.
January 5, 2022
Quick review for a quick read. All - it's difficult for me to write a review on essentially what is a 16-minute audio letter that Ruby Bridges, the first African-American girl to attend an integrated school in the United States, penned to her audience with a inspirational calling to change the world. It's an incredibly important and brief read. I first learned of Ruby Bridges's story in a few ways - one from my parents (they were of the same generation as Bridges, so I'm still baffled by people who keep saying that her story was "long ago" - it very much wasn't), two - from many conversations growing up and having compassionate teachers who taught me her story, during and beyond Black History Month, three - from the Disney movie that was shot in my hometown in the 90s and that I think my Godmother was actually an extra in. (Some scenes were filmed at her church.)
I don't think I can say enough of how I admire and respect Bridges for what she did despite all the hardship and heartache she and her family went through during the time. This book is intended for children and gives Bridges the chance to highlight parts of her story and thanks to the audience inspiring her, while also calling for them to be able to do the things they want to do and make change. I would certainly recommend and share this with people I know, and I wouldn't hesitate to share resources so that even more people know her story.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.
I don't think I can say enough of how I admire and respect Bridges for what she did despite all the hardship and heartache she and her family went through during the time. This book is intended for children and gives Bridges the chance to highlight parts of her story and thanks to the audience inspiring her, while also calling for them to be able to do the things they want to do and make change. I would certainly recommend and share this with people I know, and I wouldn't hesitate to share resources so that even more people know her story.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.
February 21, 2021
About once every 10 years, Ruby Bridges writes a short book about her personal experience in 1960, when she was one of four blacks selected by the courts to attend an all white school in New Orleans. This recently published book features a small portion of Norman Rockwell's iconic painting of Ruby on her way to school. The book is a series of photographs from then and now, asking for more tolerance and understanding. For me, the recognition of her white teacher was the most moving part of the short memoir and call to action.
January 11, 2021
Simple, beautiful, powerful. A reminder to young people that the horrible things their parents have done, that the history of racism that exists, can end with them. And a reminder to adults to do better, to be the change we want to see in the world so that the next generation may benefit.
February 22, 2023
This book is written like a letter from Ruby Bridges to the many children she has met during her tours of schools to talk to kids about the Civil Rights movement. Along with her story, Bridges includes photos from the 1960s showing some of the protests and the signage from the Jim Crow South. Ruby Bridges is the woman whose iconic picture of her 6-year-old self made headlines in the 1960s as the first African American student to enter a desegregated school in New Orleans. As an adult, Bridges has become an activist and speaker, discussing racism and her role in the Civil Rights movement. She was just a student going to school but literally became the poster child of the movement. Sadly, many states have banned this book. It is a positive and inspiring commentary that should be allowed to be read by our youth.
February 10, 2023
A true account of Ruby Bridges who was the first little black child to go to an all white school in New Orleans.
November 22, 2020
I received the audio version of this book as part of the Libro.fm educator subscription.
This is a short 13 minute narrative of Ruby Bridges’ memories as a six year old girl, whose only wish was to meet and make friends at her new school.
Once there was a six year old black child who was selected to be the first to integrate public schools. Little Ruby Bridges did not understand she was making history, nor did she understand the crowd of angry whites who yelled and pulled their children from the school.
For her safety, she was escorted to and from school the entire year by federal agents. Stop and imagine this. Really think about the fact that she was unable to be taken to school by her parents because it was also unsafe for them to escort Ruby.
She ended up being taught one to one by Ms. Henry, whom she described as looking like the folks outside yelling, but who was nice and kind to her, and made certain she learned something new everyday. Ruby recalls “We mattered to each other...”
Ruby wisely reminds us “...racism is a grown up disease. We, adults, must stop using you, our kids to spread it. None of you are born into the world raciest. It is we adults who pass racism along...”
This Is Your Time may be short in length but it is stacked with wise words of wisdom regarding passing judgment prior to meeting someone new, bravery in the midst of sadness, and the eternal spring of hope from younger generations.
There is so much goodness in this book that I listened to it three times to let it all soak in and coat my soul. I feel the audio version is extra special as Ruby herself provides the narration.
This is a short 13 minute narrative of Ruby Bridges’ memories as a six year old girl, whose only wish was to meet and make friends at her new school.
Once there was a six year old black child who was selected to be the first to integrate public schools. Little Ruby Bridges did not understand she was making history, nor did she understand the crowd of angry whites who yelled and pulled their children from the school.
For her safety, she was escorted to and from school the entire year by federal agents. Stop and imagine this. Really think about the fact that she was unable to be taken to school by her parents because it was also unsafe for them to escort Ruby.
She ended up being taught one to one by Ms. Henry, whom she described as looking like the folks outside yelling, but who was nice and kind to her, and made certain she learned something new everyday. Ruby recalls “We mattered to each other...”
Ruby wisely reminds us “...racism is a grown up disease. We, adults, must stop using you, our kids to spread it. None of you are born into the world raciest. It is we adults who pass racism along...”
This Is Your Time may be short in length but it is stacked with wise words of wisdom regarding passing judgment prior to meeting someone new, bravery in the midst of sadness, and the eternal spring of hope from younger generations.
There is so much goodness in this book that I listened to it three times to let it all soak in and coat my soul. I feel the audio version is extra special as Ruby herself provides the narration.
January 7, 2021
This little gem is a letter from Ruby Bridges to the youth of the world. She is encouraging them to be the change that we need in this world.
November 14, 2020
At age six, Ruby Bridges was the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. She had to be escorted to school by federal marshals, leading to iconic photographs of her small size and the screaming, threatening crowds. In this book for children, Bridges tells the story of her harrowing time attending school, how she was taught in a classroom all by herself with a teacher who made her feel safe and loved, and how it felt to be that little girl. Filled with historical photographs, the book shows and explains the battle for desegregation across the country and also the modern fights for equity, inclusion and antiracism.
This is one of those books that gives chills. It is a profoundly moving read as Bridges shares photos that demonstrate the intensity of the battle, the danger she was in, and the bravery that it took her and her family to take such a public stand for change. As Bridges moves into talking about modern youth and their battles, she maintains the same tone, challenging all of us to join us in the fight for civil rights and social justice.
The photographs and the iconic Norman Rockwell picture add a deep resonance to this book, taking Bridges’ beautifully written words and elevating them. The photo selection is done for the most impact, at times mixing modern and historical photographs together to show how little has changed but also how important the fight is.
One of the most important books of the year, this brings history and future together in one cry for justice. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
This is one of those books that gives chills. It is a profoundly moving read as Bridges shares photos that demonstrate the intensity of the battle, the danger she was in, and the bravery that it took her and her family to take such a public stand for change. As Bridges moves into talking about modern youth and their battles, she maintains the same tone, challenging all of us to join us in the fight for civil rights and social justice.
The photographs and the iconic Norman Rockwell picture add a deep resonance to this book, taking Bridges’ beautifully written words and elevating them. The photo selection is done for the most impact, at times mixing modern and historical photographs together to show how little has changed but also how important the fight is.
One of the most important books of the year, this brings history and future together in one cry for justice. Appropriate for ages 9-12.
November 6, 2021
This is a simple yet inspirational story of the first black child to integrate into an all white school. At age 6, Ruby needed 4 Federal agents to escort her to school in 1960 every single day. Teachers quit. Students were taken out of school. Ruby need a separate private white teacher (Mr. Henry) to teach her since so many parents wouldn't let their kids be taught in the same room as a black child.
"I felt safe and loved because of Mrs. Henry, who, by the way, looked exactly like the women in that screaming mob outside. But she wasn't like them. ...She became my best friend. I knew that if I got safely past the angry crowd outside and into my classroom, I was going to have a good day."
Ruby has traveled to many schools to give speeches and meet children over the years.
"I met Vae, who said we are all like a bag of M&M's - different on the outside, but the same inside. Gotta love those M&M's."
Ruby understands:
"I have been saying for many years how I believe racism is a grown-up disease, and we "adults" must stop using you, our kids, to spread it. None of you are born into the world racist."
I saw this book in the list of 800+ books attempting to be banned- by Texas state Rep Matt Krause.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/fi...
"I felt safe and loved because of Mrs. Henry, who, by the way, looked exactly like the women in that screaming mob outside. But she wasn't like them. ...She became my best friend. I knew that if I got safely past the angry crowd outside and into my classroom, I was going to have a good day."
Ruby has traveled to many schools to give speeches and meet children over the years.
"I met Vae, who said we are all like a bag of M&M's - different on the outside, but the same inside. Gotta love those M&M's."
Ruby understands:
"I have been saying for many years how I believe racism is a grown-up disease, and we "adults" must stop using you, our kids, to spread it. None of you are born into the world racist."
I saw this book in the list of 800+ books attempting to be banned- by Texas state Rep Matt Krause.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/fi...
January 23, 2021
Ruby Bridges simply wished to attend school and make friends when she was the first black student to integrate into her neighborhood school in Louisiana. Instead she was escorted by federal marshalls and met with protests; yet inside her classroom was a teacher who wanted to help her. Ruby recounts her experiences while also asking readers to affect positive change in today’s world.
The audiobook of this text was beautifully narrated by Ruby Bridges herself. I will have to see if I can find a physical book to enjoy the accompanying pictures.
I received an Advanced Listening Copy of this text thanks to Libro.fm’s Librarian ALC program.
The audiobook of this text was beautifully narrated by Ruby Bridges herself. I will have to see if I can find a physical book to enjoy the accompanying pictures.
I received an Advanced Listening Copy of this text thanks to Libro.fm’s Librarian ALC program.
November 29, 2020
Ruby Bridges has reached hero status for her groundbreaking desegregating of the New Orleans school system at the age of 6. Now, 60 years later, she encourages today’s young people to keep up the fight for equality after the 2020 death of George Floyd and the BLM protests in 2020. Put this book in your classrooms, home school rooms, or give it to the young people in your life.
December 18, 2020
This short, compact book packed a punch for me. I know the story of Ruby Bridges the 6-year-old girl who was chosen to integrate an elementary school in New Orleans and the abuse she endured. I've seen the pictures of the hateful faces that confronted her on the way to school, the U.S. Marshalls who escorted her to school every day. But the sweet pictures of little Ruby herself really got to me. What a burden to put on a little girl! And yet, here she is today, still advocating for civil rights and black lives, encouraging today's young people to take up the mantel and carry on.
April 23, 2025
I've wanted to learn more about Ruby Bridges since I read a picture book about her story. (Phenomenal, and brought tears to my eyes.)
This nook by Mrs. Bridges was good, not amazing, but good. The photographs were the best parts for me.
Not for young children, maybe middle school? Good if learning about racism or Ruby Bridges.
This nook by Mrs. Bridges was good, not amazing, but good. The photographs were the best parts for me.
Not for young children, maybe middle school? Good if learning about racism or Ruby Bridges.
February 15, 2021
I’ve had this Norman Rockwell print of Ruby Bridges hanging on my living room wall for 30 or 40 yrs. I’ve now listened to her inspiring, though brief, personal letter. It never occurred to me that someone had to teach Ruby when she was just 6 years old or what it must have been like for her own family. This personal letter helped me understand.
January 18, 2021
INTEGRATION HAS TO WORK BOTH WAYS
This small book is essential and there is little to say except that everyone, young and less young, should have it somewhere in their library, on their bookshelves, or in their pockets, not to mention in their minds. Ruby Bridges just remembers what it was for her to be the first black student in 1960 to be integrated into an up to then all-white school in New Orleans. She was six then and her white teacher the first year came from Boston just for her because all white parents refused to have their children go to the same class as a black girl, and the white teacher that taught her came all the way from Boston because all white teachers in the school refused to have a black girl in their classes, and what’s more a black teacher. And the Supreme Court had ruled against school segregation six years earlier. Ruby Bridges had to be accompanied to and from the school by four federal agents because it would have been too dangerous for her to go alone and for her father to accompany her. The Purple Heart the father got in Korea did not give him the slightest privilege and he lost his job when his daughter was designated to be the six-year-old pioneer who was needed to open the gate.
But we cannot understand how slow change can go in the USA when dealing with the racial problem there. In 1969 in Dunn, North Carolina, the High School was finally desegregated, fifteen years after the Supreme Court ruling. I was there and I must say the situation was tense with some parents, but I can only remember what was expressed in front of me, not what was only expressed behind closed doors or in the secret solitude of one’s mind. Though I did get across some remarks like a white mother telling me that the black English teacher of her son could not even speak English properly and that she had told her son that he “was ‘as dumb as my dumb’ can you imagine?” I did not say a word, but I could imagine thanks to the big billboard at the entrance of the city on the main highway declaring Dunn, NC, to be “a sanctuary of the KKK.” In 1973 when I crossed the city again, the billboard had been torched but it was still standing there.
And nothing is never that simple though. In 1973 at the University of California at Davis, in my English III class, I decided to have a black novel in the first quarter. I wanted Ishmael Reed’s The Freelance Pallbearers, but it was no longer available as a paperback, so I chose Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. This time it did not meet with any opposition from the university personnel, teaching staff or others, but it was the first time a black novel was put on the syllabus of English III, Initiation to English Literature. Some opposition came from the Black Students Association who protested in the Chancellor’s office. The Chancellor just asked the students if the book was written in English, and if the book was a novel. They had to say yes to both questions. So, the Chancellor told them that this black novel from this black author could be on the syllabus of a course on English Literature, as well as on the syllabus of a course on Black Studies. And I only heard about it from the secretary, under the seal of discretion, of the English Department, probably sometime after the incident.
This last episode leads me to say that integration is not always that easy to implement on both sides of the divide. It is difficult for white people to accept to integrate black people and black culture, but it can be difficult for black people to accept to see their culture integrated into the everyday life of white people, or even of an integrated institution because the Blacks may feel or believe their culture is being alienated, endangered, even depreciated by such an inclusion.
That’s why this little book is essential. The struggle of Black people in the USA has to be a mass struggle on the side of the Blacks, but it has also to be a mass struggle on the side of the whites not just to tolerate black culture and black people on the side, in the margin, but to integrate black culture and black people in their everyday life, and it has to be accepted by everyone that black culture is part of American culture just as much as Shakespeare’s tragedies of division and Walt Whitman’s poetry of togetherness or comradeship for whom to separate the two sides of life is to create a tragic division that leads only to sadness and eventually sterile death.
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical shuttle,
Out of the Ninth-month midnight, …
Shine! shine! shine!
Pour down your warmth, great sun!
While we bask, we two together.
Two together!
Winds blow south, or winds blow north,
Day come white, or night come black,
Home, or rivers and mountains from home,
Singing all time, minding no time,
While we two keep together.
Separate the two sides of real-life and it can only bring death on both sides, and mental death is a lot more serious than any other form of death.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
This small book is essential and there is little to say except that everyone, young and less young, should have it somewhere in their library, on their bookshelves, or in their pockets, not to mention in their minds. Ruby Bridges just remembers what it was for her to be the first black student in 1960 to be integrated into an up to then all-white school in New Orleans. She was six then and her white teacher the first year came from Boston just for her because all white parents refused to have their children go to the same class as a black girl, and the white teacher that taught her came all the way from Boston because all white teachers in the school refused to have a black girl in their classes, and what’s more a black teacher. And the Supreme Court had ruled against school segregation six years earlier. Ruby Bridges had to be accompanied to and from the school by four federal agents because it would have been too dangerous for her to go alone and for her father to accompany her. The Purple Heart the father got in Korea did not give him the slightest privilege and he lost his job when his daughter was designated to be the six-year-old pioneer who was needed to open the gate.
But we cannot understand how slow change can go in the USA when dealing with the racial problem there. In 1969 in Dunn, North Carolina, the High School was finally desegregated, fifteen years after the Supreme Court ruling. I was there and I must say the situation was tense with some parents, but I can only remember what was expressed in front of me, not what was only expressed behind closed doors or in the secret solitude of one’s mind. Though I did get across some remarks like a white mother telling me that the black English teacher of her son could not even speak English properly and that she had told her son that he “was ‘as dumb as my dumb’ can you imagine?” I did not say a word, but I could imagine thanks to the big billboard at the entrance of the city on the main highway declaring Dunn, NC, to be “a sanctuary of the KKK.” In 1973 when I crossed the city again, the billboard had been torched but it was still standing there.
And nothing is never that simple though. In 1973 at the University of California at Davis, in my English III class, I decided to have a black novel in the first quarter. I wanted Ishmael Reed’s The Freelance Pallbearers, but it was no longer available as a paperback, so I chose Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. This time it did not meet with any opposition from the university personnel, teaching staff or others, but it was the first time a black novel was put on the syllabus of English III, Initiation to English Literature. Some opposition came from the Black Students Association who protested in the Chancellor’s office. The Chancellor just asked the students if the book was written in English, and if the book was a novel. They had to say yes to both questions. So, the Chancellor told them that this black novel from this black author could be on the syllabus of a course on English Literature, as well as on the syllabus of a course on Black Studies. And I only heard about it from the secretary, under the seal of discretion, of the English Department, probably sometime after the incident.
This last episode leads me to say that integration is not always that easy to implement on both sides of the divide. It is difficult for white people to accept to integrate black people and black culture, but it can be difficult for black people to accept to see their culture integrated into the everyday life of white people, or even of an integrated institution because the Blacks may feel or believe their culture is being alienated, endangered, even depreciated by such an inclusion.
That’s why this little book is essential. The struggle of Black people in the USA has to be a mass struggle on the side of the Blacks, but it has also to be a mass struggle on the side of the whites not just to tolerate black culture and black people on the side, in the margin, but to integrate black culture and black people in their everyday life, and it has to be accepted by everyone that black culture is part of American culture just as much as Shakespeare’s tragedies of division and Walt Whitman’s poetry of togetherness or comradeship for whom to separate the two sides of life is to create a tragic division that leads only to sadness and eventually sterile death.
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical shuttle,
Out of the Ninth-month midnight, …
Shine! shine! shine!
Pour down your warmth, great sun!
While we bask, we two together.
Two together!
Winds blow south, or winds blow north,
Day come white, or night come black,
Home, or rivers and mountains from home,
Singing all time, minding no time,
While we two keep together.
Separate the two sides of real-life and it can only bring death on both sides, and mental death is a lot more serious than any other form of death.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
January 11, 2021
Ruby Bridges was a girl who until now I had left in the 1960's. I knew that she must have continued to grow older but hadn't thought of her that way. The words in this text are so important but it was the pictures that I found the most interesting -- especially when pictures from the 60's and today were showing the same reaction.
September 27, 2022
An important message we should all hear. A whopping 13 minute audiobook that we all have time for
November 3, 2020
A HUGE THANK YOU TO @LIBROFM FOR THIS EDUCATOR ALC. THIS IS YOUR TIME WAS FULL OF HOPE, STRENGTH AND ENCOURAGEMENT. THE PERFECT REMINDER OF HOW FAR WE’VE COME, HOW FAR WE HAVE TO GO AND THAT WE THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER TO IGNITE CHANGE. BECAUSE THIS IS OUR TIME.
February 20, 2021
“You only need a heart full of grace.”
“Really, it is that love and grace for one another will heal this world. It is that love and grace that will allow us to see one another as brothers and sisters. It is that love and grace that will allow us to respect the many ways God has made all of us unique and will allow us to turn our stumbling blocks into stepping stones.” Pg 16
Though geared more towards children/YA readers, her story and message is worth a read for any age.
“Really, it is that love and grace for one another will heal this world. It is that love and grace that will allow us to see one another as brothers and sisters. It is that love and grace that will allow us to respect the many ways God has made all of us unique and will allow us to turn our stumbling blocks into stepping stones.” Pg 16
Though geared more towards children/YA readers, her story and message is worth a read for any age.
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