Synopsis

In 1994, idealistic teacher Erin Gruwell begins work at a racially divided Long Beach high school, where her students face gang violence, prejudice, and low expectations. By encouraging them to keep personal journals and study stories of survival, she gradually earns their trust. Writing becomes a way for the teenagers to confront their experiences, bridge racial divisions, and imagine futures beyond the limitations imposed on them.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on The Freedom Writers Diary, a 1999 book assembled from journal entries written by Erin Gruwell and 150 of her students at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.

• The title is a play on "Freedom Riders," the civil rights activists who challenged segregation on interstate buses in 1961.

• The project grew out of an ABC News Primetime Live report about Gruwell and her class. Journalist Tracey Durning, who spent months documenting the students, later became an executive producer on the film.

• Paramount's production material emphasized the use of young performers, including newcomers whose real-life experiences helped bring authenticity to the classroom scenes.

• Although the story takes place at Wilson High School in Long Beach, much of the school filming was done at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.

• The film was dedicated to Armand Jones, who played Grant Rice. Jones was killed in Anaheim after filming had been completed.

• The film's success helped keep attention on Gruwell's educational methods. She later founded the Freedom Writers Foundation, which supports teachers working with underserved and at-risk students.