CONTEXT: The Freedom writers is a film which demonstrates the racial discrimination and gang violence which occurred in the 90's, after the L.A. riots. Freedom Writers depicts injustice through the idea of racial segregation, integration, gang mentality, and white privilege. The students within the film all represent a different story, as they all face injustice because of the colour of their skin. In the film the students are looked down upon by the teachers, as no one sees a future for them. Erin Gruwell, their new-time English teacher, displays to the students that justice is possible, and they eventually receive justice, as they communicate to the rest of the school that they will "break the borders", and graduate, breaking the the stigmas around integrated schools, making a difference in society.
LA RIOTS: Twenty-eight years ago, the city of Los Angeles fell into a state of extreme unrest after four police officers were involved in the brutal beating of an African-American man named Rodney King. On 29 April 1992, the police officers were vindicated, sparking the worst race riots in US history. The verdict led to five days of violent protests in which 50 people died and over 2,000 were injured. Close to 1,000 buildings throughout the city that were damaged or totally destroyed. Almost 12,000 people were arrested.
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SEGREGATION: segregation is the practice of requiring separate housing, education and other services for people of colour. Segregation was made law in 18th and 19th-century in America. After the United States abolished slavery, black Americans continued to be marginalised through enforced segregation and ceased access to facilities, housing, education and opportunities.
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INTEGRATION: Integration occurs when separate people or things are brought together. Integration included goals such as levelling barriers between the association of cultures, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of cultures. This draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely bringing a racial minority into the majority culture. "It's the melting pot of society". The civil rights movement of the 60's-90's introduced this unhinged idea to integrate the students which had earlier been segregated from society, to create a sense of "diversity" within the USA. Integration in schools quickly created gang violence, further segregation and unjust state of affairs within the education system.
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