In 1994, a freshly minted new teacher by the name of Erin Gruwell challenged her Long Beach, California class of students, each dealing with racial tension and hate, to record their thoughts, fears and dreams in a daily diary. Their writings, eventually published as The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them, were overwhelmingly powerful.
   

Serving as the genesis of the Paramount Pictures 2007 release, Freedom Writers, the collection of journal entries about the adversities faced in daily lives fired a new unity of purpose and mutual respect and love. The experience began an educational journey leading to bachelors and masters degrees and, for some, the pursuit of PhDs. Inspiringly, the fire that it lit still burns on in classrooms from Long Beach, CA to Boston and New York, from Texas to Oregon, as Freedom Writer teachers are trained with one goal in mind: to decrease high school drop out rates through the replication and enhancement of the Freedom Writers Method.

The impact of the Freedom Writers' story has been felt far beyond Room 203 in Long Beach. The foundation has begun training teachers to replicate and evolve Erin Gruwell's teaching methods and the book is now taught in classrooms in cities across the country including Chico, CA; Fresno, CA; La Selva Beach, CA; Long Beach, CA; Newport Beach, CA; Oroville, CA; San Diego, CA; Pierson, FL ; Sarasota, FL; Warm Springs, CA; Atlanta, GA; Waipahu, HI; Richmond, IN; Boston, MA; Coon Rapids, MN; Kansas City, MO; Far Rockaway, NY ; Oklahoma City, OK; Hermiston, OR; Philadelphia, PA ; Fort Worth, TX; Bremerton , WA and Ontario, Canada.

As one original Freedom Writer of Room 203 wrote, "We began writing anonymous journal entries about the adversities that we faced in our every day lives. We wrote about gangs, immigration, drugs, violence, abuse, death, anorexia, dyslexia, teenage love, weight issues, divorce, suicide, and all the other issues we never had the chance to express before. We discovered that writing is a powerful form of self expression that could help us deal with our past and move forward."

In support of the Freedom Writers drive to change the world around them, and in recognition of the power of writing to realize their dreams, all proceeds from the sale of Dreams of a Wingless Child will be donated to the Freedom Writers Foundation.

For further information or media inquiries about the Freedom Writers, contact info@freedomwritersfoundation.org