Freedom Writers: Their Story, Their Words and Their Future

by Prima Artha Pratiwi

Freedom Writers tells about the white-skin woman who taught English at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. She taught unusual class where the classroom is full of racism. Why? Because they are  have different skin with black, Latino and Asian. They do not like to make friends with people who has different skin with them. It was challenging for Mrs. Erin Gruwell. She cannot understand about how to teach them who still have racism. Day by day Mrs. Gruwell try to find what is the weapon that matches to teach the classroom. One day, Mrs. Gruwell has a task for every student to make a diary about themselves in a book. The book should be collected every week.

The diary only is read by Mrs Gruwell and theirselves. Then Mrs. Gruwell read one by one of the books that finally she understands about why the students do not want to make friends with people who have different skin with them. The reason is because most of the students are the holocaust victim. Some of their family was killed by another skin, for example is the dark man was killed by the white man, so they do not want to make friends because they have set their mind that all people with different skin with them are bad and wants to kill them. Mrs. Gruwell try to understand about their story and day by day makes some games to teach them and make a round for the sit of the students. She put the white man to sit near with the dark man and so on. 

Moreover , Mrs. Gruwell try to invite Mrs. Anne Frank, a victim who passed the holocaust. Mrs. Gruwell wants her to tell about her story when the holocaust happened. All students were very enjoying listening abour Mrs. Frank story. In the end, every student can make a friend by not make the gap because of the different skin. The students are called The Freedom Writers because they tell story about how they faced the holocaust and they became their own heroes. When you can be victim from the holocaust, does not mean you are cannot to be hero. Mrs. Gruwell students can move on from the perception of the different skin. Finally they can make a friends together.