The Freedom Writers Diary: The Freedom Riders

I have to admit, I am kind of embarrassed to say that I never made the connection as to where the title of the book came from until Diary Entry Number 75. The student who wrote this entry talked about how inspiring the lessons they learned about the Freedom Riders in the 1960s were. These riders risked their reputations, and even their lives, to fight for equality and show that race is not a factor any more. Whites and blacks were not allowed to sit together on public transportation, so to protest, these young men and women sat on the bus together. Whites sat next to blacks and they traveled the across the country showing the world that change was possible and that their were people willing to fight for it. The student who wrote this entry was the only white person in Ms. Gruwell's class when the class first began. He was scared of the other students because they were all minorities. His friends made fun of him associating himself with the non-white students. With time, however, he developed incredible relationships with the other students in the class. Inside that classroom, they didn't care about the race or religion, they only cared about the kind of people they were inside. They cared about each other's morals, their dedication to the group, and their passion for brining about a real change in this world. These were exactly the ideas behind the Freedom Riders. Most importantly though, the students, like the riders, wanted to teach these same ideals to others. They wanted to spread peace throughout the nation, just as these students strived to do through their writing. What inspired this student the most, was that there was a white man involved in the Freedom Riders who this boy related to very much. Jim Zwerg was a white man fighting for what man believed was a black man's cause. This student was in the same boat. Both were fighting for a cause that was more for the rights and treatment of others than of themselves. Both encouraged other whites to join with the minority. Jim got other whites to ride on the busses, and this student got his white friends to sign up to join Ms. Gruwell's class because he made them realize that they didn't have to be segregated in school based on race or status in the community! He made a change all on his own. He opened the eyes of those around him and was inspired to do so by Jim Zwerg. What this specific diary entry made me realize more than any of the others before it, is that these students found certain role models in history, from places all around the world, and used them to inspire their actions and inspire them to make change. People always say that we should learn from history so it doesn't repeat itself. But they never say we should learn from history so it CAN repeat itself. There have been so many remarkable people who sacrificed everything for the betterment of mankind and looking to them for inspiration will only continue to change the world for the better. I think we each need our own historical role model to inspire us to repeat the good parts of history. To remind us to fight for freedom and equality and to never give up until we have made the change we set out to make. I don't know who my historical role model is yet, but I do know that Ms. Gruwell is great modern role model. So for now, the example she has set of spreading peace through educating others will have to be enough.