Jane Elliott | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jane Jennison November 30, 1933[1] Riceville, Iowa, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Anti-racism activist, diversity educator |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Known for | "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise |
| Spouse |
Darald Elliott
(m. 1955; died 2013) |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | janeelliott |
Jane Elliott (née Jennison;[2][3] born November 30, 1933) is an American diversity educator. As a schoolteacher, she became known for her "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise, which she first conducted with her third-grade class[a] on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The publication of compositions which the children had written about the experience in the local newspaper led to much broader media interest in it.
The classroom exercise was filmed in 1970, becoming the documentary The Eye of the Storm. PBS series Frontline featured a reunion of the 1970 class, as well as Elliott's work with adults, in its 1985 episode "A Class Divided". Invitations to speak and to conduct her exercise eventually led Elliott to give up school teaching and to become a full-time public speaker against discrimination. She has directed the exercise and lectured on its effects in many places throughout the world.[4] She also has conducted the exercise with college students, as seen in the 2001 documentary The Angry Eye.[5]
- ^ Dean, Ghi (1996). "7". Deprived of a Fighting Chance: An Inside Look at Rehabilitation in a Canadian Prison. BookBaby. ISBN 9781483531311 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Darald Dean Elliott | Obituaries". Globe Gazette. September 30, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ "Randall Teacher Gets Linen Gifts At Recent Shower". Ames Daily Tribune. Ames, Iowa. February 18, 1955. p. 6. Retrieved April 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ An Unfinished Crusade, PBS, December 19, 2002
- ^ Longman, Molly; Ufheil, Angela (January 15, 2017). "'Blue eyes/brown eyes' teacher says MLK's legacy is just as relevant today". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).