"Diarios De Las Calles" - Su Historia, Sus Palabras, Su Futuro

 “Diariosde las Calles”- The Freedom Writers Diary with Erin Gruwell. I read the first pages and I was like “Damnnn!!” There are no words in my vocabulary that can describe my thoughts so far about this book, it’s a pretty amazing book that can change someone’s way to think, someone’s perspective of life, and even someone’s life. You have to pay really close attention to the words these teenagers used on their writings, the way they write on their diaries is like if they are narrating you their story, the way they live, and specially the war they face day by day and that they hope one day that war will end.

 The book is about how a 23-years-old English teacher uses the techniques of reading and writing to change 150 teens and the world around them. Ms. Gruwell was a student teacher at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California.  Long Beach was dubbed the “gangsta-rap capital” by MTV due to its depiction if guns and graffiti. Ms. Gruwell was given the group of the “un-teachable” students as the others teachers refer to them. This group was form of Latinos, Asians, Blacks and one white boy. They lived in the projects, the so called “hood”

The book takes place in Long Beach City "gangsta-rap capital" or L B C as the rappers refer to it, at Woodrow Wilson High School located in a safe neighborhood. Its location and reputation make it desirable. So much that a lot of students that live in the hood take two or three buses to get to school. Students come from every area of Long Beach; rich kids from the shore sit next to poor kids from the projects. There's every race, religion and culture within the confines of the quad. But since the Rodney King riots, racial tension has spilled over into the school. Over 120 murders in Long Beach in the months following the Rodney King riots. Gang violence and racial tension reach an all time high. The cultural influences of the Freedom Writers Diary are that in Long Beach it all comes down to which you look like, it’s all about color. If you’re Latino, or Asian, or Black; you can get blast at any time you walked out your door. Schools are separate by sections; "Beverly Hills" or "Disneyland" where all of the rich white kids hang out, there's "China Town" where the Asians hang, the Hispanic sections is referred to as either "Tijuana Town" or "Run to the Border", then there's the Black section known as "Da Gueto".  We kill each other over race, pride and respect. We fight for our America! We are on war. Those were the words a Mexican girl said. 

       "I always thought that "odd" was a three-letter word; but today I found out it has seven, and they spell G-r-u-w-e-l-l." (Freedom Writers)