freedom writers
What Happened After Sophomore Year
During their junior year, in 1997, the Freedom Writers all went to Washington, D.C., where they presented their diary to the United States Secretary of Education Richard Riley. During this trip they also honored the Freedom Riders by holding a peace march and prayer vigil at the Washington Monument for victims of intolerance. The Freedom Writers Diary has photos of this, and I can only imagine what a touching site this must have been.
In 1998, their senior year, Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers won the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. It was extremely special for the Freedom Writers to receive this award as a group, since the award is usually given to individuals. The Freedom Writers all traveled to New York for the acceptance ceremony. In New York, they also saw the play, "The Diary of Anne Frank," on Broadway.
At the end of that school year, all of the Freedom Writers graduated from high school AND went on to college. Although the visits, trips, and awards were great achievements, this was probably their greatest achievement of all. When Erin Gruwell started with these students as freshman, most of them were not expected to make it past their sophomore year. For some of these students, they were the first generation in their family to even graduate high school.
Since high school, the Freedom Writers have not let their dreams die. In 1999, they traveled to Europe and visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, the concentration camps in Germany and Poland, and their friend, Zlata Filipovic in her native Sarajevo, Bosnia. Erin Gruwell continued on to teach at California State University Long Beach.
During their junior year, in 1997, the Freedom Writers all went to Washington, D.C., where they presented their diary to the United States Secretary of Education Richard Riley. During this trip they also honored the Freedom Riders by holding a peace march and prayer vigil at the Washington Monument for victims of intolerance. The Freedom Writers Diary has photos of this, and I can only imagine what a touching site this must have been.
In 1998, their senior year, Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers won the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. It was extremely special for the Freedom Writers to receive this award as a group, since the award is usually given to individuals. The Freedom Writers all traveled to New York for the acceptance ceremony. In New York, they also saw the play, "The Diary of Anne Frank," on Broadway.
At the end of that school year, all of the Freedom Writers graduated from high school AND went on to college. Although the visits, trips, and awards were great achievements, this was probably their greatest achievement of all. When Erin Gruwell started with these students as freshman, most of them were not expected to make it past their sophomore year. For some of these students, they were the first generation in their family to even graduate high school.
Since high school, the Freedom Writers have not let their dreams die. In 1999, they traveled to Europe and visited Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, the concentration camps in Germany and Poland, and their friend, Zlata Filipovic in her native Sarajevo, Bosnia. Erin Gruwell continued on to teach at California State University Long Beach.