Racial tension. What is it? Intolerance? Yes, somehow that is what it boils down to because it has been part of society since the beginning of time. Nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon once said.
Freedom Writers is a true story about such a time. This story was birthed in a time of intolerance, quite literally burning, killing, and looting in the streets of Los Angeles in the mid 90s.
Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), had always wanted to be a teacher, but not just at any school, she dreamed of being a teacher at an inner city school. She wanted to make a difference.
Her dream has come true. She walks into a classroom of total chaos. Her new English class is white, black, Hispanic, Asian and everything in between…and they hate each other. Overwhelmed by the seething hatred, Erin stands alone—with a cardigan sweater and a strand of pearls—expecting to be trusted. She can either walk away from her dream or stand and fight for these kids that seem to see right through her. Can she unify this seething mass of disadvantaged, racially divided students? She can and she does but she doesn’t do it using techniques taught in college.
Erin battled against not only the student’s hatred but when she went to the school to check out books for her students to read they wouldn’t let her have the books which were part of her curriculum. The school said that the books would be lost, stolen or damaged so they couldn’t have them, so Erin worked two extra jobs just to buy books for her students.
One of the first books on her reading list was Ann Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Virtually all of her students had never even heard of the Holocaust. As they started reading the book, they were introduced to a whole new realm of intolerance; intolerance not about the color of your skin but religious intolerance; intolerance not where a few hundred people lost their lives but literally millions. They found that intolerance was not new, just different.
When these kids finished reading about Anne Frank, Erin decided it was time for a field trip. Once again, funding it herself from her second and third jobs, she takes them to The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Afterwards she takes them to a restaurant where they were joined by real life, living Holocaust survivors.
This was just the beginning of their journey. Erin purchased simple notebooks and invited each student to journal daily. It didn’t have to be a lot but it needed to be daily entries. She kept these journals in a locked cabinet with a place where they could be placed if she was allowed to read them. Writing in these journals started the healing process for this class, for this school. Eventually Erin, with their permission, was able to have their journals published as The Freedom Writers Diary, the genesis of this film. The money was divided amongst the authors.
The real story was about the students of Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California where there were more than 100 murders in 1993. The real story is about a young woman who made a difference. Virtually all of Erin’s students graduated from High School; most went on to college. Some became teachers. Some taught at Woodrow Wilson High School.
As you can read, I loved this beautiful, uplifting true story. It is inspiring faire for your family of teens and pre-teens. This would be great summer family night viewing. As always, I welcome your comments at Carolyn@carolynhastings.com
Leave a Reply