The Freedom Writers Diary is a book that was written in 1999 by The Freedom Writers, a group of 150 students and their teacher, Erin Gruwell from Wilson Classical High School. The non fiction book is based on journals that the students had written about the troubles of their past, present, and future.
The title Freedom Writers is a play on the terms, "Freedom Writers", which was black and white civil rights activists, and "Freedom Fighters", a term used to describe a person who fights for freedom.
The Freedom Writers Diary is the basis of the 2007 movie Freedom Writers, that starred Hilary Swank.