Eva: You don’t know nothing! You don’t know the pain we feel. You don’t know what we got to do. You got no respect for how we living. You got us in here, teaching us this grammar shit, and then we got to go out there again. And what are you telling me about that, huh? What are you doing in here that makes a goddamn difference to my life?
Erin Gruwell: You don’t feel respected. Is that what you’re saying, Eva? Well, maybe you’re not. But to get respect, you have to give it.
Andre: That’s bullshit.
Erin Gruwell: What?
Andre: Why should I give you my respect to you? Because you’re a teacher? I don’t know you. How do I know you’re not a liar standing up there? How do I know you’re not a bad person standing up there? I’m not just gonna give you my respect because you’re called a teacher.
Eva: White people always wanting their respect like they deserve it for free.
Erin Gruwell: I’m a teacher, it doesn’t matter what color I am.
Eva: It’s all about color. It’s about people deciding what you deserve, about people wanting what they don’t deserve. About whites thinking they own this world no matter what, you see, I hate white people.
Erin Gruwell: You hate me? You don’t know me.
Eva: I know what you can do. I saw white cops shoot my friend in the back for reaching into his pocket, his pocket! I saw white cops come into my house and take my father away for no reason except they feel like it! Except because they can! And they can, because they’re white. So I hate white people on sight!