Before she began to speak, Erin Gruwell got a standing ovation. That's how warm the welcome was for this California schoolteacher at the annual YWCA Leader luncheon held in Salt Lake City Friday.
Gruwell has twice been named teacher of the year in her home state. Her story is being made into a movie, the story of how she taught hope to 150 inner-city kids. Gruwell turned them into writers and helped them publish a book.
At the lunch, held in Grand America Hotel, Gruwell talked about two of her "Freedom Writer" students. A young man named Darrius, whose father had died of AIDS, and a young woman named Maria, whose father was in San Quentin, were both 14-year-olds with criminal records when they came into her class.
Gruwell was able to reach them through a book, "The Diary of Anne Frank." Says Gruwell, still sounding surprised that they read it, "400 pages, no pictures."
When he finished the book, Darrius learned that the woman who hid Anne and her family was still alive. Darrius decided to bring Miep Gies from Amsterdam to meet their class. When she spoke in Salt Lake City, Gruwell didn't explain how they got the plane fare, but Gies did come and Darrius could tell her, in person, "You are my hero."
These are the kind of heroes our children need, Gruwell said, as opposed to "people who eat bugs on an island called Survivor." Then Gruwell talked about the Utah women who received awards from the YWCA. She called them heros.
The five Utah women included Jan Tyler, an evaluation and assessment specialist for the State Office of Education. YWCA executive Anne Burkholder described Tyler as an early feminist who has always been outspoken about educational reform.
Graciela Italiano-Thomas, CEO of Central de la Familia de Utah, has recently consulted with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, because of her expertise with Head Start. She accepted her award on behalf of all the Latinas in the room. Business-owner Marilyn Tang got her award for mentoring so many other women. Burkholder said, "One-third of business in Utah are now owned by women but it was a different story 35 years ago," when Tang started out.
Gail Russell, director of the Indian Walk-In Center, got her award for public service. She thanked Utah's five indigenous tribes and numerous nonprofits for their help. An Episcopal priest, Rev. Gwyneth MacKenzie Murphy, got an award for her welcoming ministry. In accepting her award, Murphy said, "Our work is not done." She accepted her award on behalf of all the women, over thousands of years, who tried to speak out and were silenced.
E-mail: susan@desnews.com