April 8th 2024.
Jane Elliott, a well-known advocate against racism, gained recognition for her influential blue eyes, brown eyes experiment conducted on April 5, 1968. Through this experiment, she demonstrated how prejudice is a learned behavior, rather than something we are born with. Recently, Elliott has spoken out against the Republican Party's attempts to limit discussions of race in classrooms.
In a discussion with CNN, Elliott shared her thoughts on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, which took place just a few days after her experiment. She expressed her deep sorrow and horror at the senseless murder of a man whose only goal was to bring about positive change for all people, regardless of race. Elliott stated, "My whole body reacts to the horror that I felt when I realized that we had killed a man whose only aim was to make things better, not just for people that we call Black…but for people of all kinds on this Earth."
In a 2017 interview with USA Today, Elliott addressed the reactions from conservatives at the time and saw them as part of a larger backlash against progress. She stated, "This is the response of white people to eight years of a Black man in the White House. That means that we didn't make progress in the first place. We made people go underground and that's exactly what they did."
When asked about the efforts by conservatives to ban her work from higher education institutions, Elliott saw it as a compliment. She explained that this was just another attempt by white Americans to maintain their numerical majority. "This whole thing is an effort now to guarantee that white people do not lose their numerical majority. The fact that my work is being banned on college and university campuses is the highest compliment I've ever received. It just confirms that what I'm doing is the right thing."
The blue eyes, brown eyes experiment, which gained Elliott widespread recognition, revealed how social roles can shape how people treat each other. Even when the role is assigned based on something as arbitrary as a student's eye color, it had a profound effect on their behavior towards one another. Elliott remarked, "Within five minutes, I had changed that group of loving, kind, generous, thoughtful human beings into people who act the way people who are allowed to judge people unfairly on the basis of physical characteristics in this country do every day."
In addition to her advocacy against racism, Elliott also spoke about the flaws in how America teaches its own history. She stated, "We indoctrinate children with racism on a daily basis in the schools in this country. We do not tell the truth in this country." According to Elliott, this is the reason why many white people are afraid of their children learning the truth and possibly acting upon it. She believes that education should open people's eyes to the bigotry and ignorance around them, rather than perpetuate it.
In recent news, a Texas law firm has taken a stand against the state's law banning critical race theory in lesson plans. Elliott's words serve as a reminder that education should not shy away from uncomfortable truths, but rather embrace them in order to create a more just and equitable society.
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