Empowerment

Throughout The Freedom Writers Diary, the Freedom Writers moved from the victim mentality to an empowered mentality. As the students studied various authors and realized they were not alone in their pain, they become more philosophical about their situation and took steps to improve their environment.

Once they began to conquer the "us versus them" mentality and see each other as human beings rather than Latino, Black, Asian or White, the move from victim to empowerment occurred rather quickly. As the reader peruses the diary entries in chronological order, it's quite apparent that this shift is taking place.

It's often said that empowerment is a growth process that is never ending and self initiated. This is certainly the case in this instance. As the Freedom Writer group began to experience success and build their confidence, they increased their positive self image. As their positive self image increased, they...