Compelling and inspiring, this autobiography chronicles the life of Bridglal "Bridge" Pachai, a lifelong advocate of social justice whose journey has taken him from South Africa to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The book traces his years teaching history—at universities in South Africa, Malawi, Gambia, and Halifax—while also detailing his important work as director of both the Black Cultural Centre in Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. Ultimately, this memoir reveals how one man’s ideals and convictions have shone through to hold him on his remarkable path.

Bridglal Pachai was born and raised in South Africa and came to Halifax in 1875. One of the foremost authorities on African Nova Scotian history, he has taught at Dalhousie, St. Mary's, and Mount Saint Vincent Universities, and served as executive director of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. He is the author/editor of seventeen books, including Historic Black Nova Scotia.

Bridglal Pachai's profile page

"Bridge does not divine a purpose in the accidental opportunities he has encountered. Rather he accepts the mystery of their almost haphazardness
and stresses the importance of seizing the opportunities that the opening doors present."  —J. Colin Dodds, president, Saint Mary's University, from the preface