Freedom Writers

"Maybe we should talk about art. Tito's got real talent, don't you think? You know something? I saw a picture just like this once, in a museum. Only it wasn't a black man, it was a Jewish man. And instead of the big lips he had a really big nose, like a rat's nose. But he wasn't just one particular Jewish man. This was a drawing of all Jews. And these drawings were put in the newspapers by the most famous gang in history. You think you know all about gangs? You're amateurs. This gang will put you all to shame. And they started out poor and angry, and everybody looked down on them, until one man decided to give them some pride, an identity... and somebody to blame. You take over neighborhoods? That's nothing compared to them. They took over countries. You want to know how? They just wiped out everybody else. Yeah, they wiped out everybody they didn't like, and everybody they blamed for their life being hard. And one of the ways they did it was by doing this: see, they print pictures like this in the newspapers. Jewish people with big, long noses, blacks with big, fat lips. They'd also published scientific evidence that proved that Jews and blacks were the lowest form of human species. Jews and blacks were more like animals. And because they were just like animals, it didn't really matter whether they lived or died. In fact, life would be a whole lot better if they were all dead. That's how a holocaust happens. And that's what you all think of each other."

"So when you're dead, you'll get respect, that what you think? [murmurs of "yeah" from the class] You know what's gonna happen when you die? You're gonna rot in the ground, and people are going to go on living, and they're going to forget all about you. And when you rot, do you think it's gonna matter whether you were an "original gangster"? You're dead. And nobody, nobody is gonna want to remember you, because all you left in the world is this. [holds up Tito's drawing]"

"Your bags are packed and you think the wine will give me a headache?"

"An "F"? What, are ya trippin'?"

"[repeated line] All right, guys and gals, listen up!"

"[after Marcus calls her "his hero"] Oh no. No, no, young man, no, I am not a hero. No, I did what I had to do because... it was the right thing to do. That is all. Now we are all ordinary people, but even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room, ja? I have read your letters, and your teacher has been telling me many things about your experiences. You are the heroes. You are heroes every day. Your faces are engraved in my heart."

"Justice doesn't mean the bad guy goes to jail, it just means that someone pays for the crime."

"My brother taught me what the life is for a young black man. Pimp, deal, whatever. Learn what colors to wear. Gang banners. You can sell to one corner, but you can't sell another. Learn to be quiet. The wrong word can get you popped."

"She can't even look at me because I look like my dad."

"I was having trouble deciding what candy I wanted. Then I heard gunshots. I looked down to see that one of my friends had blood coming from his back and his mouth. The next day I pulled down my shirt and got strapped with a gun I found in an alley outside my house."

"Nobody cares what I do. Why should I bother coming to school?"

"Nobody ever listens to a teenager. Everybody thinks you should be happy just because you're young. They don't see the wars that we fight every single day. And one day, my war will end. And I won't die. And I will not tolerate abuse from anyone. I am strong."

"In every war, there is an enemy. I watched my mother being hlaf-beaten to death, and watched as bloodand tears streamed down her face. I felt useless and scared, and furious at the same time. I can still feel the sting of the belt on my back and my legs. One time he couldn't pay the rent. That night he stopped us on the street and pointed to the concrete. He said, "pick a spot.""

"You can't make someone want education."

"If you look in my eyes, you'll see a lonely girl. If you like at my smile, you'll see nothing wrong. If you pull up my shirt, you'll see the bruises. What did I do to make him so mad?"

"Miss Gruwell, he just took my damn bag!"

"Clive was my boy. He had my back plenty of times. Me and him was like one fist. One army. [Clive pulls a gun out of a paper bag and accidentally shoots himself] I sat there until the police came. But when they come, all they see is a dead body, a gun, and a nigger. They took me to juvenile hall. First night was the scariest. Inmates banging on the walls, throwing up gang signs, yelling out who they were and where they from. I cried my first night. I never let anybody know that. I spent the next few years in and out of cells. Every day I worry, when will I be free?"

"At sixteen, I've seen more bodies than a mortician. Every time I step out my door I face the risk of being shot. To the rest of the world it's just another dead body on a street corner. They don't know that he was my friend."

"Man, what am I DOIN' in here, man? This ol' ghetto ass class got people in here lookin' like a bad rerun of cops!"

"During the war in Cambodia, the camps stripped away my father's dignity. He sometimes tries to hurt me and my mom. I feel like I have to protect my family."

"In America, a girl can be crowned a princess for her beauty, and her grace. But an Aztec princess is chosen for her blood. To fight for her people as Papi and his father fought, against those who say we are less than they are, against those who say that we are not equal in beauty or blessings."

"I don't even know how this war started. It's just two sides that tripped each other way back. Who cares about the history behind it? I am my father's daughter, and when they call me to testify, I will protect my own, no matter what."

"My PO doesn't understand that schools are like the city and the city is just like a prison."

"Hilary Swank as Erin Gruwell"

"Patrick Dempsey as Scott Casey"

"Scott Glenn as Steve Gruwell"

"Imelda Staunton as Margaret Campbell"

"April Hernandez Castillo as Eva Benitez (as April Lee Hernandez)"

"Mario as Andre Bryant"

"Kristin Herrera as Gloria Munez"

"Jaclyn Ngan as Sindy"

"Sergio Montalvo as Alejandro Santiago"

"Jason Finn as Marcus"

"Deance Wyatt as Jamal Hill"

"Vanetta Smith as Brandy Ross"

"Gabriel Chavarria as Tito"

"Hunter Parrish as Ben Daniels"

"Antonio García as Miguel"

"Giovonnie Samuels as Victoria"

"John Benjamin Hickey as Brian Gelford"

"Robert Wisdom as Dr. Carl Cohn"

"Pat Carroll as Miep Gies"

"Our story. Our words."

"Their story their words."