“Freedom Writers” author to speak at CSUMB

By Mark Muckenfuss

Best known as the inspiration for the film “Freedom Writers,” Erin Gruwell will speak at Cal State Monterey Bay on Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 4 - 6 p.m. in the University Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Gruwell, who became an English teacher at Long Beach’s Wilson High School in the 1990s, found herself faced with classes filled with street-savvy students who often had little interest in reading or writing. She was able to motivate them to express themselves through writing journals and other projects and exposed them to literature through books such as Anne Frank’s diary and the writings of Elie Wiesel. 

“When I started I had a roomful of students who were survivors of some sort,” she said, whether that was the trauma of living in gang-infested areas or from being refugees of foreign conflicts. “There was a culture of silence. I had to create ways for my students to feel safe in order to share and I wanted my students to feel, in facing their own fears, that it would be liberating and cathartic.”

It’s a lesson she continues to champion, she said. One of the keys, she said, is “having empathy and compassion for those that you humbly serve.” 

Her first cohort of 150 students all went on to graduate and attend college. Twenty years ago, she published the book “The Freedom Writers Diaries” and established the Freedom Writers Foundation, which works to provide teachers with the tools and inspiration to help their students succeed.

That work, she said, is more important today than ever. 

“There is more of an urgency now than ever before,” Gruwell said. “It's a tenuous time for people in the trenches fighting the good fight.”

Gruwell said she is dismayed that efforts to improve diversity and inclusivity are under attack, along with books such as hers. 

“What has been hard is my life's work is often at the hands of pundits and politicians,” she said. “Our book has been banned and it's hard to be targeted. But it's being banned along with Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel.”

Early on Wednesday, Gruwell said she plans to visit the Monterey County Juvenile Hall and meet with some of those incarcerated there who have established a Freedom Writers program. 

“That’s the beauty of our story,” she said, “giving a voice to the voiceless.” 

Gruwell will also be attending a holiday event at Martinelli’s headquarters in Watsonville. Recently, the company formed a partnership with the foundation, she said. A toast with the company’s sparkling cider is a key moment in the “Freedom Writers” film and Gruwell said it has been a tradition since her first year of teaching. 

Recently, she was asked by the company how many toasts she wanted to do in the coming year. Before she knew it, she said, “1,344 bottles showed up at my doorstep.” 

Freedom Writers teachers and affiliates are now in all 50 states and 20 foreign countries, Gruwell said. The foundation has a podcast and recently produced a set of videos of the original Freedom Writers sharing their stories.

“Every one of them makes me weep,” she said. 

“We released our 20th anniversary edition of ‘Freedom Writers,’” she said. “It has new stories … and allowed us to include some incredible curriculum for teachers.”

Given the current climate in the United States and efforts to ban her book, Gruwell said she continues to look to the late Congressman John Lewis, one of the original Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights Movement. That group inspired the name of her organization. Lewis was famous for calling activism “good trouble.”

“I realize this is the time and place again for good trouble,” Gruwell said. “How do we fight the good fight? Writing gives people a voice.

“I never thought I would be the one running into the burning building,” she added. “But along the way, it’s been amazing to find kindred spirits and I think coming to Monterey is going to be like finding those kindred spirits.”