Bent Northrop Memorial Library

Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the integration of her school in New Orleans in 1960.

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 no choice but to be escorted to class by federal marshals when she was chosen as one of the first black students to integrate New Orleans' all-white public school system and an appeal to generations to come to effect change. Ruby's honest and impassioned words, imbued with love and grace,...

Ruby Bridges tells the story of how she helped end racial segregation in the New Orleans public school system when she was in the first grade.