This Promise of Change : One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

An award-winning memoir-in-verse from a civil rights trailblazer who desegregated a public high school in Clinton, Tennessee.

In 1956, one year before the Little Rock 9 made history, fourteen-year-old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. As outside protesters arrived, tensions rose and neighbor turned against neighbor. Soon even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if they should just return to their old school.

Jo Ann—clear-eyed, practical, tolerant, and popular—found herself called on as the spokesperson of the group. But that’s not the only life she wanted. This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of a trailblazer fighting for civil rights—and for the right to be an ordinary teenager.

Based on original research and interviews and featuring archival materials and notes from the authors on the co-writing process.