Jane Elliott (Champion of Human Rights)

I submit for Humanity’s consideration a schoolteacher in the small town of Riceville, Iowa, named Jane Elliott who conducted an anti-racism experiment on her all-white 3rd grade classroom, (the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated). She wanted them to understand what discrimination felt like, so she split her students into two groups, based on EYE COLOR!

“BLUE Eyes-BROWN Eyes” EXERCISE:
Jane told them that people with Blue-eyes were “Superior” and are now granted extra recess time, access to playground equipment, and the right to sit at the front of the room. The "Inferior" Group, the Brown-eyed students were forced to wear fabric collars to identify them from a distance, forbidden from using the drinking fountain, and were told they were less intelligent. The next day, Elliott arbitrarily Reversed the Roles of the privileged and discriminated groups, now making the Brown-eyed students the "Superior" group.

THE OUTCOME:

1.Behavioral Shifts:
Within mere MINUTES the "so-called Superior" students became arrogant, bossy, and cruel, while the "arbitrarily described inferior" group became timid, despondent, and subservient.

2.Academic Performance:
Elliott noted that the "so-called Superior" students' test scores and mathematical abilities improved, while "arbitrarily described Inferior" students' academic performance plummeted, even on simple tasks. Thus, both groups felt (on a very small scale) the merciless sting of Discrimination…

3.Internalization:
The children quickly internalized the arbitrary stereotypes she created, showing how quickly discriminatory behaviors are adopted, how irrational Prejudice is, and that Discrimination IS TAUGHT!

PS:
On one interview Jane was wearing a sweatshirt that quoted the following by lecturer, & college educator, Nathan Rutstein: ‘Prejudice is the emotional commitment to IGNORANCE.” …What a Flawless description!

BPS:
See it for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLAi78hluFc
…From the Lookout Post.