Ms. Elliott is convinced that Viktor Hugo was right when he told us that nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.  The idea of one race, the HUMAN race, is an idea whose time has come, and we'd all better be prepared to pass it on.

 

Jane Elliott received her teaching degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Chosen as one of Peter Jennings' ABC-TV's "Person of the Week," Jane is the adaptor of the "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" discrimination experiment. The sensitizing exercise, in which participants are labeled inferior or superior based on the color of their eyes, began in a third-grade classroom in all-white, all-Christian Riceville, Iowa, immediately after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It has been repeated with dramatic results with children and adults throughout the country. Those who have been through this exercise have said it is an emotionally significant and life-changing experience. This ground breaking exercise is the pinnacle of all other diversity programming in the country today.

 

Several television documentaries have covered her work, among them ABC's "The Eye of the Storm," which won the Peabody Award; "A Class Divided," which dealt with the long-term impact of the exercise and Ms. Elliott's work with adults and was broadcast nationally on PBS's Frontline series;, "The Eye of the Beholder," which also dealt with adults and their reactions to discrimination and was produced by Florida Public Television.

 

"The Angry Eye" is a dynamic and provocative documentary, showcasing Jane Elliott's world famous Blue-Eyed/Brown-Eyed exercise in discrimination. The tables are turned on white American College students as they are forced to experience the same kind of racist treatment African Americans and other minorities have been receiving for years. In the documentary, students' reactions are intercut with Elliott's observations. The film is disturbing; both for the participants and for the viewers, who are made to confront their own prejudices.

 

Jane Elliott is a recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education. She has been a guest lecturer at numerous colleges and universities and has been a guest on a wide variety of television shows including The Today Show, Tonight with Johnny Carson, Donahue, and the Oprah Winfrey show. She is hailed as the leader in diversity training - a veteran presenter who has addressed groups ranging from colleges and universities, to civil service organizations, elementary schools, corporations and businesses.

 

Speaking Topics:

·         The Anatomy of Prejudice

·         Power, Perception and Prejudice