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A Class Divided (full film) | FRONTLINE

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    >> [NOISE] Twenty
    seven years ago when
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    civil rights leader
    Martin Luther King Junior
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    was assassinated,
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    [NOISE] grief
    and frustration
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    erupted in
    America's cities.
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    [NOISE] Far away in Iowa,
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    one third grade teacher
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    knew she had to
    do something.
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    >> The shooting of
    Martin Luther King,
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    could not just be talked
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    about, and explained away.
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    There was no way
    to explain this to
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    little third graders
    in Riceville, Iowa.
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    I knew that it was time to
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    deal with this in
    a concrete way,
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    not just talk about it.
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    Because we had
    talked about
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    racism since the
    first day of school.
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    [MUSIC].
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    >> This is a fact,
    blue-eyed people
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    are better than
    brown-eyed people.
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    >> It was a daring
    experiment in prejudice.
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    >> I watched wonderful,
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    thoughtful children
    turn into nasty,
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    vicious, discriminating,
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    [LAUGHTER] little
    third graders.
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    >> Can one teacher
    in one day
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    change the lives of
    her students forever?
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    Tonight, A Class Divided.
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    >> [BACKGROUND]
    August 1984,
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    a high school
    reunion brings
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    some 50 former students
    to Riceville Iowa.
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    Eleven of them, some with
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    their spouses
    and children,
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    arrive early for a
    special reunion with
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    their former 3rd grade
    teacher, Jane Elliott.
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    >> [LAUGHTER] [inaudible]
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    >> This is my husband Tom.
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    >> Tom. Brian? [LAUGHTER]
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    >> I don't have one.
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    >> How are you?
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    >> I'm fine. Roy Wilson.
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    >> I made it.
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    >> You darling.
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    >> It's been long time
    [inaudible] 14 years.
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    >> I'm so glad
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    to see you [BACKGROUND]
    [OVERLAPPING].
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    >> [BACKGROUND]
    How are you doing?
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    It's been a long time
    since I've seen you.
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    >> Yeah. It has been
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    >> Where are your
    little ones?
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    >> They are at
    home with mom.
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    >> This is your husband?
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    >> Yeah, that's Greg.
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    >> Mr
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    >> Greg Rollin
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    >> Greg Rollin.
    Nice to meet you.
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    >> Fourteen years earlier,
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    when they were students in
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    her 3rd grade classroom,
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    ABC News filmed
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    a two-day exercise
    for a documentary,
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    The Eye of the Storm.
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    Now at their request,
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    they will see that
    film again and relive
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    the experience of
    her unique lesson
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    in discrimination.
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    [MUSIC]
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    >> This is a special week.
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    Does anybody
    know what it is?
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    >> National
    Brotherhood Week
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    >> National
    Brotherhood Week.
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    What's brotherhood?
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    >> Be kind to
    your brothers?
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    >> Be kind to
    your brothers.
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    >> Like you would
    like to be treated.
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    >> Treat everyone the way
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    you would like
    to be treated.
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    Treat everyone as though
    he was your brother.
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    Is there anyone in
    this United States
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    that we do not treat
    as our brothers?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Who?
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    >> Black people.
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    >> The black
    people. Who else?
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    >> Indians.
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    >> Absolutely,
    the Indians.
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    When many people
    see a black person,
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    or a yellow person, or
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    a red person, what
    do they think?
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    >> [BACKGROUND] Look
    at the dumb people.
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    >> Look at the
    dumb people.
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    What else do they
    think sometimes?
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    What things do they say
    about black people?
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    >> They call them
    Negros, niggers.
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    >> In the city,
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    many places in the
    United States,
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    how are black
    people treated?
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    How are Indians treated?
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    How are people who are of
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    a different color
    than we are treated?
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    >> Like they're not
    part of this world.
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    They don't get anything
    in this world.
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    >> Why is that?
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    >> Because they are
    a different color.
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    >> Do you think you
    know how it would
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    be judged by the
    color of your skin?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Do you think you
    do? No, I don't think
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    you'd know how
    that felt unless
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    you had been through
    it, would you?
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    It might be
    interesting to judge
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    people today by the color
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    of their eyes. Would
    you like to try this?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Sounds like
    fun, doesn't it?
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    Since I'm the teacher
    and I have blue eyes,
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    I think maybe the
    blue-eyed people should
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    be on top the first day.
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    >> Up here?
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    >> The blue-eyed people
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    are the better
    people in this room.
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    Yes, they are.
    Blue-eyed people
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    are smarter than
    brown-eyed people?
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    [LAUGHTER].
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    >> My dad isn't
    that stupid.
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    >> Is your dad brown-eyed?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> One day you
    came to school and
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    you told us that
    he kicked you?
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    >> He did.
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    >> Do you think a
    blue-eyed father
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    would kick his son?
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    >> Yeah [OVERLAPPING].
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    >> My dad is
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    blue-eyed he's never
    kicked me [LAUGHTER].
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    >> Ray's dad is blue-eyed,
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    he's never kicked
    him [LAUGHTER].
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    >> Rex's dad is blue-eyed
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    he's never kicked him.
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    This is a fact.
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    Blue-eyed people are
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    better than
    brown-eyed people.
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    Are you brown-eyed
    or blue-eyed?
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    >> Blue.
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    >> Why are you
    shaking your head?
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    >> I don't know [LAUGHTER]
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    >> Are you sure
    that you're right?
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    Why?
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    What makes you so sure
    that you're right?
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    [LAUGHTER].
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    >> I don't know.
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    >> The blue-eyed
    people get
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    five extra minutes
    of recess,
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    while the brown-eyed
    people have to stay in.
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    The brown-eyed people do
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    not get to use the
    drinking fountain.
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    You'll have to use
    the paper cups.
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    You brown-eyed people are
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    not to play with the
    blue-eyed people
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    on the playground
    because you are
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    not as good as
    blue-eyed people.
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    The brown-eyed
    people in this room
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    today are going
    to wear collars,
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    so that we can tell
    from a distance
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    what color your eyes are.
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    On page 127. Is
    everyone ready?
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    Everyone but Laurie.
    Ready, Laurie?
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    >> She's a brown-eyed.
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    >> She's a brown-eyed.
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    You'll begin to notice
    today that we spend
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    a great deal of time
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    waiting for
    brown-eyed people.
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    The yardstick's gone.
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    I don't see the
    yardstick, do you?
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    >> It's probably
    over there.
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    >> Hey, Mrs. Elliot,
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    you better keep that
    on your desk so if
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    the brown-eyed people
    get out of hand.
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    >> Oh, you think
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    if the brown-eyed
    people get out of hand,
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    that would be
    thing to use?
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    >> No.
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    >> Who goes
    first to lunch?
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    >> The blue eyes.
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    >> The blue-eyed people.
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    No brown-eyed people
    go back for seconds.
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    Blue-eyed people may
    go back for seconds.
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    Brown-eyed people do not.
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    >> Why not the brown-eyed?
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    >> Don't you know?
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    >> They're not smart.
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    >> Is that the
    only reason?
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    >> Afraid they'll
    take too much.
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    >> Might take too
    much [NOISE].
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    Quietly now, not a sound.
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    >> [NOISE]. It
    seemed like when we
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    were down on the bottom,
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    everything bad was
    happening to us.
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    >> The way they
    treated you felt
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    like you didn't even
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    want to try to
    do anything.
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    >> It seemed like Mrs.
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    Elliot was taking
    our best friends
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    away from us [NOISE].
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    >> What happened
    at recess?
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    Were two of you
    boys fighting?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Russell and John.
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    >> What happened, John?
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    >> Russell called
    me names and
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    I hit him in the gut.
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    >> What did he call you?
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    >> Brown eyes.
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    >> Did you call
    him brown eyes?
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    >> They always
    call us that.
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    Greg, and all of the
    blue eyes goes there.
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    [OVERLAPPING]
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    >> You can't call
    us brown eyes.
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    >> Come here, brown eyes.
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    >> [inaudible]
    call us blue eyes.
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    >> What's wrong with
    being called brown-eyed?
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    >> It means that we're
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    stupid or mean like that.
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    >> That's just
    the same way
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    as other people calling
    Black people niggers.
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Is that's the reason
    you hit him, John?
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    [NOISE] Did it help?
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    [NOISE] Did it stop him?
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    [NOISE] Did it make you
    feel better inside?
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    [BACKGROUND]
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    Does it make you
    feel better inside?
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    [NOISE] It make you
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    feel better to call
    him brown eyes?
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    Why do you suppose you
    call him brown eyes?
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    >> Well, because
    he has brown eyes.
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    >> Is that the
    only reason?
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    You didn't call him
    brown eyes yesterday,
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    and he had brown eyes
    yesterday, didn't he?
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    [OVERLAPPING]
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    >> Because you said to
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    put those blue things
    on their neck.
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    >> They tease them.
    You can't tease them.
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    >> Is this teasing?
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    >> No.
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    >> Well, he did it once.
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    >> Were you doing
    it for fun,
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    to be funny, or were you
    doing it to be mean?
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    >> I don't know.
    Don't ask me.
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    Did anyone laugh at
    you when you do?
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    I watched what had
    been marvelous.
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    Cooperative, wonderful,
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    thoughtful children
    turn into nasty,
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    vicious, discriminating
    little 3rd
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    graders in a space
    of 15 minutes.
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    Yesterday, I told you that
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    brown-eyed
    people aren't as
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    good as blue-eyed people.
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    That wasn't true.
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    I lied to you yesterday.
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    [BACKGROUND] The truth is
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    that brown-eyed people are
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    better than
    blue-eyed people.
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    [LAUGHTER] Russell,
    where are your glasses?
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    >> I forgot them.
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    >> You forgot them?
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    What color are your eyes?
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    >> Blue. [LAUGHTER]
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    >> Susan Ginder
    has brown eyes.
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    She didn't forget
    her glasses.
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    [BACKGROUND]
    Russell Ring has
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    blue eyes and what
    about his glasses?
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    >> He forgot them.
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    >> He forgot them.
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    Yesterday, we
    were visiting
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    and Greg said, "Boy,
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    I like to hit
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    my little sister
    as hard as I can.
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    That's fun."
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    [LAUGHTER] What does that
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    tell you about
    blue-eyed people?
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    >> They're naughty.
    They fight a lot.
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    >> The brown-eyed people
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    may take off
    their collars,
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    and each of you may put
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    your collar on a
    blue-eyed person.
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    [NOISE] The
    brown-eyed people
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    get five extra
    minutes of recess.
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    You blue-eyed people
    are not allowed to
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    be on playground
    equipment at any time.
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    You blue-eyed people are
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    not to play with the
    brown-eyed people.
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    Brown-eyed people are
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    better than
    blue-eyed people.
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    They're smarter than
    blue-eyed people,
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    and if you don't believe
    it, look at Brian.
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    Do blue-eyed
    people know how
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    to sit in a chair?
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    Very sad.
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    Very, very sad.
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    [NOISE] Who can tell
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    me what contraction should
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    be in the first sentence.
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    Go to the board and
    write it, John.
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    [LAUGHTER] Come on,
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    let's do it
    again. Loosen up.
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    Up, up, up. Come on.
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    That's better.
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    Now, do you know
    how to make a W?
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    Okay, write the
    contraction for we are.
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    Now, that's
    beautiful writing.
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    Is that better?
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    >> Yeah.
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    >> Brown-eyed people
    learn fast, don't they?
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    Boy, do brown-eyed
    people learn fast.
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    Very good.
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    [NOISE] Greg, what did
    you do with that cup?
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    Will you please go,
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    [LAUGHTER] and
    get that cup
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    and put your name on
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    it and keep it
    at your desk.
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    Blue-eyed people
    are wasteful.
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    [NOISE] You want to be
    timed this morning?
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    >> Yeah. [NOISE]
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    >> I use Orton-Gillingham
    phonics.
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    We used the card pack.
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    The brown-eyed
    children were
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    the low class
    the first day,
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    and it took them five
    and a half minutes
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    to get through
    the card pack.
  • 12:48 - 12:49
    The second day, it took
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    them two and a
    half minutes.
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    The only thing that had
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    changed was the
    fact that now,
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    they were superior people.
  • 12:56 - 12:58
    [BACKGROUND]
    You went faster
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    than I ever had
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    anyone go through
    the card pack?
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    [LAUGHTER] Why couldn't
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    you get them yesterday?
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    >> We were brown-eyed.
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    >> We had no powers.
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    >> [inaudible]
    block of cards.
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    >> You can see my eyes
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    keep rolling
    around, dizzy.
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    >> Oh, and you couldn't
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    think as well with
    the colors on.
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    Four minutes
    and 18 seconds.
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    >> I know [inaudible].
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    >> How long did it
    take you yesterday?
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    >> Three minutes.
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    >> Three minutes.
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    How long did it
    take you today?
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    >> Four minutes
    and 18 seconds.
  • 13:36 - 13:37
    >> What happened?
  • 13:37 - 13:39
    >> Went down.
  • 13:39 - 13:43
    >> Why?
  • 13:43 - 13:45
    What are you thinking of?
  • 13:45 - 13:46
    >> This.
  • 13:46 - 13:49
    >> I hate today.
  • 13:49 - 13:54
    >> Me, too. I hate
    it, too [LAUGHTER]
  • 13:54 - 13:56
    >> Because I'm blue-eyed.
  • 13:56 - 13:58
    >> See? I am, too.
  • 13:58 - 13:59
    [LAUGHTER]
  • 13:59 - 14:01
    >> It's not
    funny, it's not
  • 14:01 - 14:03
    fun, it's not pleasant.
  • 14:03 - 14:05
    This is a filthy,
  • 14:05 - 14:07
    nasty word called
    discrimination.
  • 14:07 - 14:09
    We're treating people
    a certain way because
  • 14:09 - 14:11
    they are different
    from the rest
  • 14:11 - 14:12
    of us. Is that fair?
  • 14:12 - 14:14
    >> No.
  • 14:14 - 14:15
    >> Nothing fair about it.
  • 14:15 - 14:16
    We didn't say this
    was going to be
  • 14:16 - 14:17
    a fair day, did we?
  • 14:17 - 14:18
    >> No
  • 14:18 - 14:22
    >> It isn't, it's
    a horrid day.
  • 14:22 - 14:25
    Ready? What did you,
  • 14:25 - 14:27
    people who are
    wearing blue colors
  • 14:27 - 14:29
    now, find out today?
  • 14:29 - 14:32
    >> I know what they
    felt like yesterday.
  • 14:32 - 14:34
    >> I knew it, too.
  • 14:34 - 14:36
    >> How did they
    feel yesterday?
  • 14:36 - 14:37
    >> Down.
  • 14:37 - 14:39
    >> Like a dog on a leash.
  • 14:39 - 14:40
    >> Yeah.
  • 14:40 - 14:43
    >> It feels like
  • 14:43 - 14:44
    you're chaining them
    up wherever you go.
  • 14:44 - 14:46
    >> Like chaining them
    up in the prison, and
  • 14:46 - 14:48
    you threw the key away.
  • 14:48 - 14:49
    >> Should the color of
  • 14:49 - 14:51
    some other person's eyes
  • 14:51 - 14:52
    have anything to do with
    how you treat them?
  • 14:52 - 14:53
    >> No.
  • 14:53 - 14:54
    >> All right then,
  • 14:54 - 14:55
    should the color
    of their skin?
  • 14:55 - 14:55
    >> No.
  • 14:55 - 14:56
    >> No.
  • 14:56 - 14:58
    >> Should you judge
  • 14:58 - 15:01
    people by the color
    of their skin?
  • 15:01 - 15:02
    >> No.
  • 15:02 - 15:03
    >> No.
  • 15:03 - 15:05
    >> You're going
    to say that
  • 15:05 - 15:08
    today and this week,
  • 15:08 - 15:09
    and probably all the
  • 15:09 - 15:11
    time you're in this room.
  • 15:11 - 15:14
    You'll say, "No, Mrs.
  • 15:14 - 15:19
    Elliot.". Every time
    I ask that question.
  • 15:19 - 15:21
    >> No, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 15:21 - 15:22
    >> No, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 15:22 - 15:25
    >> Then when you see
  • 15:25 - 15:28
    a Black man or an
  • 15:28 - 15:31
    Indian or someone
    walking down the street,
  • 15:31 - 15:33
    are you going to
    say, " [LAUGHTER]
  • 15:33 - 15:34
    Look at that silly
    looking thing?".
  • 15:34 - 15:36
    >> No.
  • 15:36 - 15:39
    >> Does it make
    any difference
  • 15:39 - 15:41
    whether their skin
    is black or white?
  • 15:41 - 15:42
    >> No.
  • 15:42 - 15:43
    >> Or yellow?
  • 15:43 - 15:43
    >> No.
  • 15:43 - 15:44
    >> Or red?
  • 15:44 - 15:45
    >> No
  • 15:45 - 15:47
    >> Is that how you decide
  • 15:47 - 15:48
    whether people
    are good or bad?
  • 15:48 - 15:48
    >> No.
  • 15:48 - 15:51
    >> Is that what makes
    people good or bad?
  • 15:51 - 15:51
    >> No.
  • 15:51 - 15:55
    >> Let's take
    these collars off.
  • 15:57 - 15:59
    >> Here, Mrs. Elliot,
    you can [inaudible].
  • 15:59 - 16:01
    >> What would you
    like to do with them?
  • 16:01 - 16:02
    >> Throw them away.
  • 16:02 - 16:02
    >> Go ahead.
  • 16:02 - 16:03
    >> Go ahead.
    [OVERLAPPING] [LAUGHTER]
  • 16:03 - 16:05
    >> Okay, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 16:10 - 16:13
    >> Now, you know
    a little bit
  • 16:13 - 16:14
    more than you knew
  • 16:14 - 16:15
    at the beginning
    of this week.
  • 16:15 - 16:15
    >> Yeah.
  • 16:15 - 16:17
    >> A lot.
  • 16:17 - 16:18
    >> Do you know
    a little bit
  • 16:18 - 16:20
    more than you wanted to?
  • 16:20 - 16:22
    >> Yes, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 16:22 - 16:23
    >> This isn't an easy
  • 16:23 - 16:24
    way to learn this, is it?
  • 16:24 - 16:31
    >> No, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 16:31 - 16:33
    >> Oh, will you stop
    that? [LAUGHTER] Now,
  • 16:33 - 16:35
    let's all sit down
    here together,
  • 16:35 - 16:36
    blue eyes and brown eyes.
  • 16:36 - 16:37
    Did it make any difference
  • 16:37 - 16:38
    what color you are?
  • 16:38 - 16:39
    >> No, no.
  • 16:39 - 16:40
    >> Down, girl. [LAUGHTER].
  • 16:40 - 16:47
    >> You found your
    friend, huh.
  • 16:47 - 16:53
    [LAUGHTER]
  • 16:53 - 16:55
    >> Are you ready
    to listen now?
  • 16:55 - 16:57
    Now, are you back?
  • 16:57 - 16:59
    >> Yeah.
  • 16:59 - 16:59
    >> Did that feel better?
  • 16:59 - 17:01
    >> Yeah.
  • 17:01 - 17:04
    >> Does the color
    of eyes that you
  • 17:04 - 17:05
    have make any difference
  • 17:05 - 17:07
    in the kind of
    person you are?
  • 17:07 - 17:09
    >> No, Mrs. Elliot.
  • 17:09 - 17:11
    >> Does that
    feel like being
  • 17:11 - 17:12
    home again, girls?
  • 17:12 - 17:18
    >> Yes, Mrs.
    Elliot. [LAUGHTER]
  • 17:18 - 17:20
    >> This was the third time
  • 17:20 - 17:21
    Jane Elliott had taught
  • 17:21 - 17:23
    her lesson in
    discrimination.
  • 17:23 - 17:25
    The first, two
    years earlier
  • 17:25 - 17:28
    was in April of 1968.
  • 17:28 - 17:29
    >> On the day after
  • 17:29 - 17:31
    Martin Luther
    King was killed,
  • 17:31 - 17:32
    one of my students
    came into the room and
  • 17:32 - 17:34
    said they shot a
    king last night,
  • 17:34 - 17:36
    Mrs. Elliot, why did
    they shoot that King?
  • 17:36 - 17:38
    I knew the night
    before that it was
  • 17:38 - 17:40
    time to deal with this
    in a concrete way,
  • 17:40 - 17:41
    not just talk
    about it because
  • 17:41 - 17:42
    we had talked about
  • 17:42 - 17:46
    racism since the
    first day of school.
  • 17:46 - 17:48
    But the shooting of
    Martin Luther King,
  • 17:48 - 17:50
    who had been one
    of our heroes of
  • 17:50 - 17:51
    the month in February,
  • 17:51 - 17:52
    could not just be talked
  • 17:52 - 17:53
    about and explained away.
  • 17:53 - 17:55
    There was no way
    to explain this to
  • 17:55 - 17:57
    little third graders
    in Riceville, Iowa.
  • 17:57 - 17:58
    As I listened to
  • 17:58 - 18:01
    the white male
    commentators
  • 18:01 - 18:02
    on TV the night before,
  • 18:02 - 18:04
    I was hearing things like,
  • 18:04 - 18:07
    "Who is going to hold
    your people together?"
  • 18:07 - 18:09
    As they interviewed
    black leaders?
  • 18:09 - 18:11
    "What are they
    going to do?
  • 18:11 - 18:13
    Who's going to
    control your people?"
  • 18:13 - 18:16
    As though these
    people were
  • 18:16 - 18:18
    subhuman and someone
    was going to
  • 18:18 - 18:20
    have to step in there
    and control them.
  • 18:20 - 18:21
    They said things
    like, "When
  • 18:21 - 18:22
    we lost our leader,
  • 18:22 - 18:25
    his widow helped to
    hold us together."
  • 18:25 - 18:27
    Who's going to hold
    them together?
  • 18:27 - 18:29
    The attitude was so
  • 18:29 - 18:31
    arrogant and so
    condescending and so
  • 18:31 - 18:33
    ungodly that I thought if
  • 18:33 - 18:36
    white male adults
    react this way,
  • 18:36 - 18:38
    what are my third
    graders going to do?
  • 18:38 - 18:40
    How are they going to
    react to this thing?
  • 18:40 - 18:42
    I was ironing the teepee,
  • 18:42 - 18:43
    we studied an Indian unit,
  • 18:43 - 18:44
    we made a teepee
    every year.
  • 18:44 - 18:46
    The first year,
    the students would
  • 18:46 - 18:48
    make the teepee out
    of pieces of sheet,
  • 18:48 - 18:49
    we'd sew it together,
  • 18:49 - 18:50
    and the next year,
  • 18:50 - 18:52
    we'd decorate it
    with Indian symbols.
  • 18:52 - 18:54
    I was ironing the
    previous year's teepee,
  • 18:54 - 18:55
    getting it ready to be
  • 18:55 - 18:57
    decorated the next day.
  • 18:57 - 18:59
    I thought of what we had
  • 18:59 - 19:00
    done with the Indians.
  • 19:00 - 19:01
    We haven't made
    much progress
  • 19:01 - 19:04
    in these 200, 300 years.
  • 19:04 - 19:07
    I thought this is the
    time now to teach them
  • 19:07 - 19:08
    really what the Sioux
  • 19:08 - 19:09
    Indian prayer that says,
  • 19:09 - 19:10
    "Oh great spirit, keep me
  • 19:10 - 19:11
    from ever judging a man
  • 19:11 - 19:12
    until I've walked in
  • 19:12 - 19:15
    his moccasins,"
    really means.
  • 19:15 - 19:16
    For the next day,
  • 19:16 - 19:17
    I knew that my
    children were going to
  • 19:17 - 19:19
    walk in someone else's
    moccasins for a day.
  • 19:19 - 19:20
    Like it or lump it,
  • 19:20 - 19:21
    they were going to have to
  • 19:21 - 19:22
    walk in someone
    else's moccasins.
  • 19:22 - 19:25
    I decided at that
    point that it
  • 19:25 - 19:27
    was time to try the
    eye color thing,
  • 19:27 - 19:28
    which I had thought
    about many,
  • 19:28 - 19:30
    many times but
    had never used.
  • 19:30 - 19:33
    The next day, I introduced
  • 19:33 - 19:34
    an eye color exercise in
  • 19:34 - 19:35
    my classroom and split
  • 19:35 - 19:37
    the class according
    to eye color,
  • 19:37 - 19:40
    and immediately
    created a microcosm
  • 19:40 - 19:43
    of society in a third
    grade classroom.
  • 19:43 - 19:45
    Riceville hasn't
    changed much
  • 19:45 - 19:47
    in the 17 years
    since then.
  • 19:47 - 19:49
    It's still a small
    farming community
  • 19:49 - 19:51
    surrounded by corn fields.
  • 19:51 - 19:54
    Its population is
    still under 1,000,
  • 19:54 - 19:58
    and it's still all white
    and all Christian.
  • 19:58 - 20:00
    Though Jane Elliott
    has continued
  • 20:00 - 20:02
    to teach her lesson
    in discrimination,
  • 20:02 - 20:05
    there has been little
    outward local reaction.
  • 20:05 - 20:06
    No objections from
  • 20:06 - 20:08
    school authorities
    or the parents of
  • 20:08 - 20:09
    the 300 odd students
  • 20:09 - 20:12
    who have by now
    been through it.
  • 20:12 - 20:15
    >> Okay. Let's
    get in a circle.
  • 20:15 - 20:16
    >> The reunion of
  • 20:16 - 20:17
    her former third
    graders was
  • 20:17 - 20:20
    Jane Elliott's first
    chance to find out
  • 20:20 - 20:21
    how much of her lessons
  • 20:21 - 20:23
    her students had retained.
  • 20:23 - 20:27
    >> All right. Now,
    Raymond I want to know
  • 20:27 - 20:29
    why you were so
  • 20:29 - 20:30
    eager to
  • 20:30 - 20:33
    discriminate against
    the rest of these kids.
  • 20:33 - 20:34
    At the end of the
    day, I thought
  • 20:34 - 20:35
    the miserable little Nazi.
  • 20:35 - 20:40
    [LAUGHTER] Really, I
    couldn't stand you.
  • 20:40 - 20:43
    >> It felt
    tremendously evil.
  • 20:44 - 20:47
    All your inhibitions
    were gone.
  • 20:47 - 20:49
    No matter if they were
    my friends or not,
  • 20:49 - 20:52
    any pent-up hostilities or
  • 20:52 - 20:54
    aggressions
    that these kids
  • 20:54 - 20:55
    had ever caused you,
  • 20:55 - 20:57
    you had a chance
    to get it all out?
  • 20:57 - 21:00
    >> Yeah, I felt
    like I was a king,
  • 21:00 - 21:03
    like I ruled
    them brown-eyes,
  • 21:03 - 21:07
    like I was better
    than them, happy.
  • 21:07 - 21:09
    >> You did it all day?
  • 21:09 - 21:10
    >> Yeah.
  • 21:10 - 21:11
    >> How did you feel when
  • 21:11 - 21:13
    you were the out-group?
  • 21:13 - 21:16
    >> Boy that day,
    after we went home
  • 21:16 - 21:19
    [LAUGHTER] talk about
    hating somebody.
  • 21:19 - 21:19
    >> Yeah.
  • 21:19 - 21:20
    >> It was there.
  • 21:20 - 21:21
    >> You hated me?
  • 21:21 - 21:24
    >> Yeah, of what you
    were putting us through.
  • 21:24 - 21:26
    Nobody likes to be
    looked down upon,
  • 21:26 - 21:28
    nobody likes to be hated,
  • 21:28 - 21:32
    teased, or
    discriminated against.
  • 21:32 - 21:34
    It just boggles
    up inside of you.
  • 21:34 - 21:37
    You just get so mad.
  • 21:37 - 21:39
    >> Were you just angry,
  • 21:39 - 21:40
    or was it more than that?
  • 21:40 - 21:44
    >> I felt demoralized,
    humiliated.
  • 21:44 - 21:47
    >> Is the learning
    worth the agony?
  • 21:47 - 21:48
    >> Yes. [OVERLAPPING]
  • 21:48 - 21:50
    >> It made
    everything a lot
  • 21:50 - 21:53
    different than
    what it was.
  • 21:53 - 21:56
    We was a lot better
    family altogether,
  • 21:56 - 21:58
    even in our houses,
    we was probably.
  • 21:58 - 22:02
    Because it was
    hard on you.
  • 22:02 - 22:04
    When you have
    your best friend
  • 22:04 - 22:07
    one day and then he's
    your enemy the next.
  • 22:07 - 22:11
    It brings it
    out real quick.
  • 22:12 - 22:14
    >> Some of the
    remarks were
  • 22:14 - 22:16
    the kinds of things
    I would have
  • 22:16 - 22:17
    wished I could have
    programmed into
  • 22:17 - 22:19
    them if I had been
    able to program them.
  • 22:19 - 22:21
    They're the things I would
  • 22:21 - 22:22
    have wanted them to say.
  • 22:22 - 22:25
    Some of the things were
    just mind-blowing.
  • 22:25 - 22:28
    >> You hear these people
    talking about that,
  • 22:28 - 22:30
    different people,
  • 22:30 - 22:34
    how they're difference and
  • 22:34 - 22:35
    they'd like to have them
    out of the country.
  • 22:35 - 22:38
    I wish they go back
    to Africa and stuff.
  • 22:38 - 22:39
    Sometimes I just wish I
  • 22:39 - 22:41
    had that color
    in my pocket,
  • 22:41 - 22:43
    I could whip it out
    and put it on and say,
  • 22:43 - 22:46
    "Wear this and put
    yourself in their place."
  • 22:46 - 22:50
    I wish they would go
    what I went through.
  • 22:50 - 22:52
    >> We was at a softball
  • 22:52 - 22:54
    game a couple weekends
  • 22:54 - 22:58
    ago and there was a
    black guy. "Hi, Verla."
  • 22:58 - 23:00
    We hugged each other
    and everything and
  • 23:00 - 23:03
    some people really
    look just like,
  • 23:03 - 23:06
    "What are you
    doing with him?"
  • 23:06 - 23:09
    You just get this
    burning feeling,
  • 23:09 - 23:10
    sensation in you
    that just want to
  • 23:10 - 23:12
    let it out and
  • 23:12 - 23:14
    put them through what
    we went through to
  • 23:14 - 23:15
    find out they're
    not any different.
  • 23:15 - 23:18
    >> I still find
    myself sometimes when
  • 23:18 - 23:19
    I see some people together
  • 23:19 - 23:21
    and I see how they act,
  • 23:21 - 23:23
    I think, well
    that's black.
  • 23:23 - 23:24
    Then right in
    the next second
  • 23:24 - 23:25
    I won't even finish
    the thought.
  • 23:25 - 23:27
    I'm saying, well, I've
    seen whites do it,
  • 23:27 - 23:29
    I've seen other
    people do it.
  • 23:29 - 23:31
    It's not just the blacks.
  • 23:31 - 23:32
    Everyone acts differently.
  • 23:32 - 23:34
    It's just the
    different color
  • 23:34 - 23:35
    is what hits you first.
  • 23:35 - 23:37
    Then later, as I said,
  • 23:37 - 23:38
    I don't even finish
  • 23:38 - 23:39
    that thought
    before I remember
  • 23:39 - 23:41
    back when I was like
    that and I remember,
  • 23:41 - 23:43
    everyone acts
    the same way,
  • 23:43 - 23:44
    it's just your way of
  • 23:44 - 23:46
    thinking is the
    difference.
  • 23:46 - 23:48
    >> Like when my
    grandparents or
  • 23:48 - 23:49
    somebody and they start
  • 23:49 - 23:51
    talking about old
    times and they say
  • 23:51 - 23:53
    the Japs and all
    this and that,
  • 23:53 - 23:54
    and they start holding
  • 23:54 - 23:55
    that against
    them, I think.
  • 23:55 - 23:58
    How would you like
    to been them?
  • 23:58 - 24:01
    Japanese Americans
    get drawn into
  • 24:01 - 24:02
    this camp just
    because they
  • 24:02 - 24:05
    happened to be
    part Japanese.
  • 24:05 - 24:08
    Calm down and
    think about it.
  • 24:08 - 24:09
    But when they get older,
  • 24:09 - 24:10
    they're set in
    their ways and
  • 24:10 - 24:12
    they're not
    going to change.
  • 24:12 - 24:14
    >> When you get older?
  • 24:14 - 24:16
    >> I'll be set in my ways,
  • 24:16 - 24:18
    but they're different
    than their way.
  • 24:18 - 24:21
    >> I was absolutely
    enthralled,
  • 24:21 - 24:24
    Sandy Dohlman's
    statements that,
  • 24:24 - 24:25
    "When my son comes
  • 24:25 - 24:26
    home with the word
    nigger and the
  • 24:26 - 24:28
    other things that
    he hears downtown,
  • 24:28 - 24:30
    I say to him, listen,
  • 24:30 - 24:32
    that isn't the way
    we judge people.
  • 24:32 - 24:33
    You don't judge people
    by how they look.
  • 24:33 - 24:34
    You judge them
    by what's on the
  • 24:34 - 24:36
    inside, not the outside."
  • 24:36 - 24:37
    >> I'm glad that she's
  • 24:37 - 24:38
    teaching them not to hate
  • 24:38 - 24:40
    because even though he
  • 24:40 - 24:42
    does here this from
    the other people,
  • 24:42 - 24:44
    if he goes home
    and thinks, Well,
  • 24:44 - 24:45
    Mom and Dad, like
  • 24:45 - 24:47
    the black people I'm
    going to like them too.
  • 24:47 - 24:49
    I don't think he's
    going to pick
  • 24:49 - 24:50
    nothing bad about it.
  • 24:50 - 24:52
    >> You chose your
    husband well.
  • 24:52 - 24:53
    [LAUGHTER]
  • 24:53 - 24:54
    >> He chose me.
  • 24:54 - 24:55
    >> You chose her well.
  • 24:55 - 24:57
    [LAUGHTER]
  • 24:57 - 24:59
    >> Little kids
    will take and
  • 24:59 - 25:01
    they'll listen to a lot
    of other people too,
  • 25:01 - 25:04
    so they're going to end
    up confused over it.
  • 25:04 - 25:07
    >> But if she keeps
    on telling them,
  • 25:07 - 25:09
    is he going to be
    person your kids
  • 25:09 - 25:11
    are or is he going to be
  • 25:11 - 25:12
    the kind who judge
  • 25:12 - 25:12
    people by the
    [OVERLAPPING].
  • 25:12 - 25:13
    >> Well, he'll know
  • 25:13 - 25:15
    somewhat right from wrong.
  • 25:15 - 25:17
    [OVERLAPPING].
  • 25:17 - 25:19
    >> But he'll
    have the ideas.
  • 25:19 - 25:23
    He won't be judging
    them by their color,
  • 25:23 - 25:24
    but he won't know what we
  • 25:24 - 25:27
    know fully having
    been through it.
  • 25:27 - 25:30
    >> He won't learn
    the color thing.
  • 25:30 - 25:31
    >> The prejudice from us.
  • 25:31 - 25:34
    >> He won't learn
    prejudice first-handed.
  • 25:34 - 25:35
    >> Yeah.
  • 25:35 - 25:37
    >> He won't learn to
    be prejudiced from us.
  • 25:37 - 25:39
    If they won't learn to
  • 25:39 - 25:41
    discriminate between
    people from us,
  • 25:41 - 25:43
    he might hear
    it from others,
  • 25:43 - 25:44
    but never from us.
  • 25:44 - 25:44
    >> Okay.
  • 25:44 - 25:45
    What's it like to be
  • 25:45 - 25:46
    married to somebody
    like that?
  • 25:46 - 25:50
    [LAUGHTER]
  • 25:50 - 25:51
    >> When I was going
    to marry Sheila,
  • 25:51 - 25:52
    I knew it for
  • 25:52 - 25:55
    my future that I was
    going into the military.
  • 25:55 - 25:58
    At first, I thought,
  • 25:58 - 25:59
    is she going to be able to
  • 25:59 - 26:01
    handle being with
  • 26:01 - 26:03
    all the different
    nationalities?
  • 26:03 - 26:08
    Then I read The
    Storm, read the book.
  • 26:08 - 26:09
    >> A Class Divided.
  • 26:09 - 26:11
    >> A Class Divided
    before we got
  • 26:11 - 26:13
    married and before
    I joined the army.
  • 26:13 - 26:15
    I said, hey,
  • 26:15 - 26:19
    she's not going to
    have any problems.
  • 26:19 - 26:21
    >> Should every child
  • 26:21 - 26:24
    have the exercise or
    should every teacher?
  • 26:24 - 26:27
    >> Everybody.
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 26:27 - 26:29
    >> I think every
    school aught
  • 26:29 - 26:30
    to implement
    something like
  • 26:30 - 26:32
    this program in their
  • 26:32 - 26:34
    early stages of education.
  • 26:34 - 26:36
    >> If Jane
    Elliott's lesson
  • 26:36 - 26:38
    in discrimination changed
  • 26:38 - 26:39
    the way these
    young people feel
  • 26:39 - 26:41
    about discrimination
    and racism,
  • 26:41 - 26:44
    it also had a totally
    unexpected result.
  • 26:44 - 26:47
    >> The second year I
    did this exercise,
  • 26:47 - 26:49
    I gave little spelling
    tests, math tests,
  • 26:49 - 26:51
    reading test, two
    weeks before they
  • 26:51 - 26:53
    exercise each day of
  • 26:53 - 26:55
    the exercise, and
    two weeks later.
  • 26:55 - 26:57
    Almost without exception,
  • 26:57 - 26:59
    the students scores go
  • 26:59 - 27:02
    up on the day they're
    on the top, down,
  • 27:02 - 27:03
    on the day there
    on the bottom,
  • 27:03 - 27:06
    and then maintain
    a higher level
  • 27:06 - 27:08
    for the rest of
    the year after
  • 27:08 - 27:10
    they've been through
    the exercise.
  • 27:10 - 27:11
    We sent some
    of those tests
  • 27:11 - 27:14
    to Stanford University,
  • 27:14 - 27:15
    to the psychology
    department.
  • 27:15 - 27:18
    They did an informal
    review of them,
  • 27:18 - 27:19
    and they said that what's
  • 27:19 - 27:20
    happening here is kids
  • 27:20 - 27:22
    academic ability is being
  • 27:22 - 27:24
    changed in a
    24-hour period.
  • 27:24 - 27:26
    That isn't possible,
    but it's happening.
  • 27:26 - 27:27
    Something very strange is
  • 27:27 - 27:29
    happening to these
    children because suddenly
  • 27:29 - 27:32
    they're finding out how
    really great they are
  • 27:32 - 27:34
    and they are responding to
  • 27:34 - 27:36
    what they know now
    they're able to do.
  • 27:36 - 27:38
    It has happened
  • 27:38 - 27:40
    consistently with
    third graders.
  • 27:40 - 27:41
    >> The film made of
  • 27:41 - 27:43
    Jane Elliott's
    third graders
  • 27:43 - 27:44
    in 1970 has
  • 27:44 - 27:46
    been widely used
    with students and
  • 27:46 - 27:48
    teachers and
    by government,
  • 27:48 - 27:50
    business, and labor
    organizations
  • 27:50 - 27:52
    concerned about
    human relations.
  • 27:52 - 27:56
    Perhaps the most unusual
    use of it is here,
  • 27:56 - 27:58
    at Green Haven
    Correctional Facility,
  • 27:58 - 28:00
    a maximum security prison
  • 28:00 - 28:02
    in Stormville, New York.
  • 28:02 - 28:10
    [NOISE]
  • 28:10 - 28:12
    Here in a sociology course
  • 28:12 - 28:14
    taught by
    Professor Duane W.
  • 28:14 - 28:17
    Smith of Dutchess Community
    College is almost
  • 28:17 - 28:20
    exclusively black and
    Hispanic classes have
  • 28:20 - 28:23
    been seen the film for
    more than 10 years.
  • 28:23 - 28:26
    >> What I'd like to do is
  • 28:26 - 28:28
    introduce the subject
  • 28:28 - 28:30
    of prejudice and
    discrimination through
  • 28:30 - 28:52
    this film called The
    Eye of the Storm.
  • 28:52 - 29:00
    >> [BACKGROUND]
  • 29:00 - 29:02
    >> By this process really
  • 29:02 - 29:04
    learned the meaning
    of discrimination.
  • 29:04 - 29:05
    >> Most of the children
  • 29:05 - 29:07
    before the film started,
  • 29:07 - 29:09
    they had played in
    live together in
  • 29:09 - 29:12
    harmony and
    certain accident
  • 29:12 - 29:13
    coming from the teacher
  • 29:13 - 29:14
    and seeing that
    teachers have
  • 29:14 - 29:16
    an authoritarian figure
  • 29:16 - 29:17
    and someone to respect,
  • 29:17 - 29:19
    they accepted the views
  • 29:19 - 29:20
    that was being
    given to them.
  • 29:20 - 29:22
    But I think at the end of
  • 29:22 - 29:24
    the lesson they would
    make clearly see
  • 29:24 - 29:26
    their prejudices
    and other forms
  • 29:26 - 29:28
    of discrimination
    are things that
  • 29:28 - 29:30
    people build within
    their minds that they're
  • 29:30 - 29:33
    not actual
    physical barriers.
  • 29:33 - 29:35
    They say you, you
    can't cross a street.
  • 29:35 - 29:38
    >> The one kid I
    could really agree
  • 29:38 - 29:42
    with was at recess,
  • 29:42 - 29:44
    was a brown-eyed kid.
  • 29:44 - 29:48
    He had this inner turmoil
  • 29:48 - 29:50
    against this
    feeling of being
  • 29:50 - 29:53
    divided or prejudice
    against where he would
  • 29:53 - 29:55
    hit another kid
    that his known
  • 29:55 - 29:58
    for so many years
    in the gut.
  • 29:58 - 30:03
    Well, he also stated
    that it didn't help any,
  • 30:03 - 30:05
    so that automatically
    should be
  • 30:05 - 30:07
    a lesson to every
    adult in the world.
  • 30:07 - 30:10
    Violence doesn't
    help anything.
  • 30:10 - 30:12
    This is a film that I hope
  • 30:12 - 30:14
    my children get to see.
  • 30:14 - 30:16
    >> Unlike New York,
  • 30:16 - 30:19
    Iowa is 98 percent
    white Anglo-Saxon.
  • 30:19 - 30:22
    Yet even here, minority
    groups account for
  • 30:22 - 30:23
    more than 20 percent
  • 30:23 - 30:25
    of the prison population.
  • 30:25 - 30:28
    To make sure its prison
    system employees are
  • 30:28 - 30:29
    sensitive to the concerns
  • 30:29 - 30:31
    of this large minority.
  • 30:31 - 30:33
    The Iowa Department
    of Corrections
  • 30:33 - 30:35
    last fall hired
    Jane Elliott
  • 30:35 - 30:37
    to give her lesson
    to some of them.
  • 30:37 - 30:39
    The group which included
  • 30:39 - 30:42
    prison guards and
    parole officers was
  • 30:42 - 30:43
    told only that it would be
  • 30:43 - 30:46
    attending a
    day-long workshop.
  • 30:46 - 30:48
    David Stokes Barry.
  • 30:48 - 30:50
    >> Most of our training,
    you go to people,
  • 30:50 - 30:53
    give you information
    and you learn that way.
  • 30:53 - 30:54
    >> Blue eye.
  • 30:54 - 30:56
    >> When I first
  • 30:56 - 31:00
    came with the sign-up
  • 31:00 - 31:02
    and such and got
    put in the group,
  • 31:02 - 31:04
    I didn't know when
  • 31:04 - 31:06
    I started seeing
    the signs around,
  • 31:06 - 31:08
    brown eyes only and such,
  • 31:08 - 31:09
    I figured they were the
  • 31:09 - 31:11
    better group because
    they had a lot of
  • 31:11 - 31:13
    spaces available and they
  • 31:13 - 31:15
    we're known for
    the blue eyes.
  • 31:15 - 31:18
    When I got put in
  • 31:18 - 31:20
    the blue eyes group and
    put the color on and
  • 31:20 - 31:22
    I knew well then
    I was going
  • 31:22 - 31:24
    to be in the deprive
    group I guess.
  • 31:24 - 31:26
    >> Okay, now you can
    stay in this area.
  • 31:26 - 31:27
    >> The workshop was
  • 31:27 - 31:29
    supposed to begin at nine.
  • 31:29 - 31:31
    They took the
    brown eyes in
  • 31:31 - 31:32
    about nine and then
  • 31:32 - 31:34
    left us standing
    in the hall.
  • 31:34 - 31:37
    I literally stood because
  • 31:37 - 31:38
    there weren't
    enough chairs and
  • 31:38 - 31:39
    I didn't know whether
    or not I'd wanted
  • 31:39 - 31:40
    to fight to take
    a chair down,
  • 31:40 - 31:42
    I didn't know if somebody
    will come and take
  • 31:42 - 31:44
    the chair away
    from me if I did.
  • 31:44 - 31:46
    >> While David
    Stokes Barry and
  • 31:46 - 31:47
    the other blue-eyed people
  • 31:47 - 31:49
    waited inside the
    meeting room.
  • 31:49 - 31:51
    Jane Elliott prepared
    the brown-eyed people
  • 31:51 - 31:53
    for what was
    going to happen.
  • 31:53 - 31:56
    >> Now this is not
    something I can do alone.
  • 31:56 - 31:58
    This exercise won't work
  • 31:58 - 32:00
    without your cooperation.
  • 32:00 - 32:03
    Blue-eyed people aren't
    allowed to smoke.
  • 32:03 - 32:04
    Blue-eyed people
    aren't allowed to
  • 32:04 - 32:06
    sit in these empty chairs.
  • 32:06 - 32:07
    Do not let a
    blue-eyed person
  • 32:07 - 32:08
    sit next to you.
  • 32:08 - 32:10
    You know, you
    can't trust them,
  • 32:10 - 32:12
    and besides which,
    they don't smell good.
  • 32:12 - 32:14
    Everybody knows that
    about blue-eyed people.
  • 32:14 - 32:15
    You don't know
    what you can catch
  • 32:15 - 32:17
    from a blue-eyed person.
  • 32:17 - 32:20
    >> By 9:20, I felt
    some antagonism.
  • 32:20 - 32:21
    I'm stuck out here
    for 20 minutes
  • 32:21 - 32:23
    standing, waiting.
  • 32:23 - 32:25
    >> I still say we
    always say what kind of
  • 32:25 - 32:26
    reaction we'll get by,
  • 32:26 - 32:29
    everyone just
    simply going in.
  • 32:31 - 32:33
    >> But he seems to
    have the courage and
  • 32:33 - 32:35
    conviction to do
    a lot of talking.
  • 32:35 - 32:38
    [NOISE] [BACKGROUND] Yeah.
  • 32:38 - 32:43
    >> Opposed him by all
    singing a song [NOISE].
  • 32:43 - 32:45
    >> We Shall Overcome
    [LAUGHTER].
  • 32:45 - 32:48
    >> I need to have
    you keep it down,
  • 32:48 - 32:49
    I don't know how
    many times I need
  • 32:49 - 32:51
    to give that instruction,
  • 32:51 - 32:52
    but you need to keep it
  • 32:52 - 32:53
    down so you don't bother
  • 32:53 - 32:56
    people in the workshop?
  • 32:56 - 32:58
    I was pretty well
    ticked off by the time
  • 32:58 - 33:01
    we got taken in
    [NOISE] [BACKGROUND].
  • 33:01 - 33:13
    >> It would be
  • 33:13 - 33:14
    to your advantage in
    the future people
  • 33:14 - 33:16
    if you get to
    meetings on time,
  • 33:16 - 33:17
    it would also be
    to your advantage
  • 33:17 - 33:19
    if you'd put
    your gum away.
  • 33:20 - 33:22
    >> I'll leave.
  • 33:22 - 33:23
    >> Put your gum away.
  • 33:23 - 33:24
    >> I'll leave.
  • 33:24 - 33:26
    >> You want to get
    paid for today?
  • 33:26 - 33:28
    Well then stay but
    put your gum away.
  • 33:28 - 33:30
    >> I don't have a purse or
  • 33:30 - 33:31
    a place to put my gum.
  • 33:31 - 33:32
    >> I'm sure that
    you are inventive
  • 33:32 - 33:35
    enough to find a
    place for the gum.
  • 33:35 - 33:36
    Now, I'd like for you to
  • 33:36 - 33:38
    notice where she
    put her gum.
  • 33:38 - 33:41
    You have this problem
    with blue-eyed people.
  • 33:41 - 33:42
    You give them something
  • 33:42 - 33:43
    decent and they
    just wreck it.
  • 33:43 - 33:45
    You'll also notice that
  • 33:45 - 33:47
    blue-eyed people spend
    a lot of time playing,
  • 33:47 - 33:49
    look at me, see
    how cute I am.
  • 33:49 - 33:51
    I can be funny. I can
    make a joke of this.
  • 33:51 - 33:53
    This is amusing.
    I'm amused by this.
  • 33:53 - 33:54
    Another thing that
    is obvious about
  • 33:54 - 33:55
    blue-eyed people is that
  • 33:55 - 33:56
    they are poor listeners.
  • 33:56 - 33:57
    The first thing
    you have to do
  • 33:57 - 33:59
    when you're teaching in
  • 33:59 - 34:00
    a segregated
    situation when
  • 34:00 - 34:02
    you're working in a
    segregated situation
  • 34:02 - 34:06
    is teach the
    listening skills.
  • 34:06 - 34:08
    The listening skills
    are number 1.
  • 34:08 - 34:10
    Good listeners
    have quiet hands,
  • 34:10 - 34:12
    feet, and mouths.
  • 34:12 - 34:15
    Everyone needs to
    write these down.
  • 34:15 - 34:16
    I'd like for you to
    look at the man in
  • 34:16 - 34:19
    the back, in the
    black jacket.
  • 34:19 - 34:23
    The game we're playing
    is playing it cool.
  • 34:23 - 34:24
    This is a favorite
    blue-eyed
  • 34:24 - 34:26
    game, playing it cool.
  • 34:26 - 34:28
    Nobody can bother me, man,
  • 34:28 - 34:30
    I can handle this. I
    don't have to do this.
  • 34:30 - 34:32
    I'm going to ignore
    this whole thing.
  • 34:32 - 34:35
    Number 2, good listeners
  • 34:35 - 34:35
    keep their eyes on
  • 34:35 - 34:38
    the person who
    is speaking.
  • 34:39 - 34:42
    I take it you don't
    have a pencil?
  • 34:42 - 34:43
    >> Yeah.
  • 34:43 - 34:43
    >> Nor you?
  • 34:43 - 34:44
    >> No.
  • 34:44 - 34:46
    >> Perhaps you could
    borrow one from
  • 34:46 - 34:47
    one of your neighbors.
  • 34:47 - 34:49
    Sir, I realized that you
  • 34:49 - 34:51
    feel that you don't
    need to write it down.
  • 34:51 - 34:53
    Whether or not you
    write it down,
  • 34:53 - 34:55
    perhaps you could
    remember it.
  • 34:55 - 34:55
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 34:55 - 34:57
    Good listeners
    have quiet hands,
  • 34:57 - 34:58
    feet, and mouths.
  • 34:58 - 34:59
    Do you know what
    that means?
  • 34:59 - 35:00
    >> I'm not sure.
  • 35:00 - 35:01
    >> I believe that.
  • 35:01 - 35:03
    Do you want me to
    explain it to you?
  • 35:03 - 35:04
    >> That's okay, I'll
    get a pencil and
  • 35:04 - 35:06
    write this down directly.
  • 35:06 - 35:08
    >> Look blue-eyed people
  • 35:08 - 35:10
    many of you have pencils.
  • 35:10 - 35:11
    Will one of you
    please lend him
  • 35:11 - 35:13
    a pencil or don't
    you trust him?
  • 35:13 - 35:16
    Which I can understand.
  • 35:16 - 35:18
    From the last 10 minutes,
  • 35:18 - 35:18
    what have you observed
  • 35:18 - 35:20
    about blue-eyed people?
  • 35:20 - 35:22
    >> Blue-eyed people
    are very stubborn,
  • 35:22 - 35:25
    very self-centered,
    and wish to
  • 35:25 - 35:26
    control as much of
  • 35:26 - 35:28
    their surroundings
    as possible.
  • 35:28 - 35:29
    People that wise, I mean,
  • 35:29 - 35:31
    very inconsiderate
    people I don't even
  • 35:31 - 35:32
    know why you're
    have them here
  • 35:32 - 35:33
    in the first place.
  • 35:33 - 35:35
    >> We have them
    here because we
  • 35:35 - 35:37
    are required to
    have them here.
  • 35:37 - 35:38
    >> We have to?
  • 35:38 - 35:39
    >> This is one
  • 35:39 - 35:41
    of the things you
    have to put up with.
  • 35:41 - 35:44
    Number 3, good listeners
  • 35:44 - 35:48
    listen from the beginning
    to the very end.
  • 35:54 - 35:58
    Good listeners decide
    to learn something.
  • 36:00 - 36:02
    This is the thing you'll
  • 36:02 - 36:03
    have the most
    difficulty with,
  • 36:03 - 36:05
    with blue-eyed
    people, they
  • 36:05 - 36:07
    decide not to
    learn something.
  • 36:07 - 36:09
    Some of you have
    had trouble with
  • 36:09 - 36:11
    blue-eyed people in
    your home environments.
  • 36:11 - 36:12
    Some of you have
    had trouble with
  • 36:12 - 36:13
    blue-eyed people
    in your workplace.
  • 36:13 - 36:15
    Does anybody have
    an example of that,
  • 36:15 - 36:19
    that they'd like to
    talk about? Anyone?
  • 36:19 - 36:21
    >> I have two
    nephews, one's
  • 36:21 - 36:23
    blue-eye and
    one's brown eye
  • 36:23 - 36:25
    and the blue one
    like he never
  • 36:25 - 36:28
    cleans his room and
    he's really lazy,
  • 36:28 - 36:31
    he doesn't seem
    to have a lot of
  • 36:31 - 36:32
    energy, the blue eyed one.
  • 36:32 - 36:35
    But the brown eyed
    one he's outgoing and
  • 36:35 - 36:37
    he plays in sports and
  • 36:37 - 36:39
    then he's pretty
    good at it.
  • 36:39 - 36:42
    He just seems like
    a better kid.
  • 36:42 - 36:44
    If I have kids, I hope
    they have brown eyes.
  • 36:44 - 36:45
    >> Are you barren?
  • 36:45 - 36:46
    >> No.
  • 36:46 - 36:47
    >> Then it's a good thing
  • 36:47 - 36:48
    you don't have kids.
  • 36:48 - 36:50
    You will know what to do
  • 36:50 - 36:52
    when you choose a mate.
  • 36:52 - 36:54
    >> Right.
  • 36:54 - 36:55
    >> Would you like
    to read that first
  • 36:55 - 36:57
    listening skill to me?
  • 36:57 - 36:59
    >> I haven't got
    all my paper yet.
  • 36:59 - 37:01
    >> Oh, why is that?
  • 37:02 - 37:05
    >> I have to
    borrow the pencils
  • 37:05 - 37:06
    write it down as yet.
  • 37:06 - 37:09
    >> You think it's
    unnecessary?
  • 37:09 - 37:12
    >> At this particular
    point, yes, I do.
  • 37:12 - 37:14
    >> Why?
  • 37:18 - 37:21
    >> I have it in my head,
  • 37:21 - 37:22
    for the most part
    [inaudible].
  • 37:22 - 37:23
    >> There is a
    lot of space up
  • 37:23 - 37:25
    there, it isn't
    their friend.
  • 37:25 - 37:29
    Do you suppose you could
    tell me what it is?
  • 37:29 - 37:31
    >> It had something to do
  • 37:31 - 37:32
    with keeping
    your hands and
  • 37:32 - 37:34
    feet still as I recall.
  • 37:34 - 37:35
    >> Has something
    to do with that?
  • 37:35 - 37:37
    [LAUGHTER] I
  • 37:37 - 37:38
    find it interesting
    that you're
  • 37:38 - 37:39
    amused by our having
  • 37:39 - 37:41
    to stand here and wait for
  • 37:41 - 37:42
    this man to do
    something that
  • 37:42 - 37:44
    everybody else
    has already done.
  • 37:44 - 37:45
    I find that highly
  • 37:45 - 37:49
    interesting, stupid,
    but interesting.
  • 37:50 - 37:53
    If you are in a situation
    where someone is
  • 37:53 - 37:57
    constantly refusing to do
  • 37:57 - 37:59
    what the people in
    authority ask them to do.
  • 37:59 - 38:00
    What do you know
    about them?
  • 38:00 - 38:01
    What do you know
    about that person?
  • 38:01 - 38:03
    >> Well, I think
    it's a game with
  • 38:03 - 38:06
    them, attention.
  • 38:06 - 38:08
    >> Has it gained anything
    for this gentleman?
  • 38:08 - 38:10
    >> Disrespect from I
  • 38:10 - 38:12
    think the brown
    eyed people.
  • 38:12 - 38:13
    >> Has it proven
  • 38:13 - 38:15
    anything to brown
    eyed people?
  • 38:15 - 38:17
    >> Yeah, so this is
  • 38:17 - 38:23
    a typical trait of
    a blue eyed person.
  • 38:23 - 38:26
    >> Now read the
    second one.
  • 38:28 - 38:30
    >> I don't have
    the second one.
  • 38:30 - 38:31
    Can I read it off her?
  • 38:31 - 38:32
    >> You don't have
    second one either.
  • 38:32 - 38:33
    >> No.
  • 38:33 - 38:34
    >> You were keeping
    it in your head.
  • 38:34 - 38:36
    What happened
    to that plan?
  • 38:36 - 38:37
    >> Just the first one I
  • 38:37 - 38:38
    had in my head not
    the second one.
  • 38:38 - 38:41
    >> Oh, the other three
    aren't important?
  • 38:41 - 38:45
    >> Well, there are
    probably important.
  • 38:45 - 38:46
    >> But not important
    enough for
  • 38:46 - 38:48
    you to write down, right?
  • 38:50 - 38:52
    >> Well, they're
    important.
  • 38:52 - 38:53
    I should have
    written them down
  • 38:53 - 38:54
    most probably.
  • 38:54 - 38:56
    >> Most probably?
  • 38:56 - 38:58
    Does anybody back
    there knows?
  • 38:58 - 39:00
    You don't have it
    written down either?
  • 39:00 - 39:01
    [NOISE] All should
    take a look
  • 39:01 - 39:04
    at these two so
    called gentlemen.
  • 39:06 - 39:08
    Now, we need to hear
  • 39:08 - 39:10
    the good listening
    skills from you.
  • 39:10 - 39:12
    I don't want you
    to think that
  • 39:12 - 39:14
    I'm badgering you boys.
  • 39:14 - 39:15
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 39:15 - 39:16
    >> I don't like that.
  • 39:16 - 39:18
    >> On the other hand,
  • 39:18 - 39:20
    you're here to
    learn something.
  • 39:20 - 39:21
    If you learn
    nothing else today,
  • 39:21 - 39:22
    it would be nice
    if you would
  • 39:22 - 39:24
    learn the
    listening skills.
  • 39:24 - 39:25
    What do you know now
  • 39:25 - 39:27
    about blue eyed people
    that you didn't
  • 39:27 - 39:31
    know before you
    came in here?
  • 39:31 - 39:32
    >> I'm finding
    I might have
  • 39:32 - 39:34
    to explain things a
  • 39:34 - 39:35
    bit more explicitly to
  • 39:35 - 39:37
    a [LAUGHTER] blue
    eyed person,
  • 39:37 - 39:39
    than I would to a
    brown eyed person.
  • 39:39 - 39:40
    >> How many times
    did I have to repeat
  • 39:40 - 39:43
    the listening
    skills for Roger?
  • 39:43 - 39:44
    >> Well, brother
    Roger is having
  • 39:44 - 39:46
    a rough time
    today, isn't he?
  • 39:46 - 39:50
    [LAUGHTER] It was about
    6-7 different times.
  • 39:50 - 39:52
    >> You think that's
    amusing Roger?
  • 39:52 - 39:56
    >> Apparently it is
    some what of you think.
  • 39:56 - 39:58
    >> As part of
    the lesson that
  • 39:58 - 40:00
    Corrections
    Department employees
  • 40:00 - 40:01
    took a written test.
  • 40:01 - 40:04
    >> I need these names
    and the scores.
  • 40:04 - 40:07
    >> I have K. R 11.
  • 40:07 - 40:08
    >> I'm sorry I
    can't hear you.
  • 40:08 - 40:09
    >> K. R -
  • 40:09 - 40:11
    >> Just initials.
  • 40:11 - 40:11
    >> -11.
  • 40:11 - 40:14
    >> Just KR, just an
    initial. No last name.
  • 40:14 - 40:14
    >> Yeah, no names.
  • 40:14 - 40:15
    >> How many?
  • 40:15 - 40:19
    >> Eleven, and [inaudible]
  • 40:19 - 40:21
    or Charles. I'm not sure.
  • 40:21 - 40:22
    >> Thank you, sir.
  • 40:22 - 40:23
    >> Your welcome.
  • 40:23 - 40:26
    >> Tell me the name again.
  • 40:26 - 40:27
    >> Turban.
  • 40:27 - 40:29
    >> You can't
    read the name?
  • 40:29 - 40:30
    >> No, I can't.
  • 40:30 - 40:32
    I can't make it
    out. [OVERLAPPING].
  • 40:32 - 40:33
    >> [inaudible] mine.
  • 40:34 - 40:37
    >> What's your name?
  • 40:38 - 40:41
    >> My name is Chambers.
  • 40:41 - 40:42
    >> First name?
  • 40:42 - 40:43
    >> Janine.
  • 40:43 - 40:45
    >> What was her score?
  • 40:45 - 40:46
    >> Six.
  • 40:46 - 40:49
    >> Next?
  • 40:49 - 40:51
    >> E. Riley with a five.
  • 40:51 - 40:51
    >> E?
  • 40:51 - 40:53
    >> E. Riley.
  • 40:53 - 40:56
    >> Would E. Riley
    please stand.
  • 41:00 - 41:03
    What you do to the
    image of blues
  • 41:03 - 41:07
    with your behavior
    is unfortunate.
  • 41:07 - 41:09
    What you three people
  • 41:09 - 41:10
    do to the image of women,
  • 41:10 - 41:14
    with your behavior
    really makes me angry.
  • 41:14 - 41:16
    The fact that you
    do this thing and
  • 41:16 - 41:19
    this sloppy work
    reflects badly on women.
  • 41:19 - 41:23
    I resent that doubly. Yes.
  • 41:23 - 41:25
    >> Ma'am, I'd really
    appreciate it if you'd
  • 41:25 - 41:26
    call us by name when
  • 41:26 - 41:27
    you say you three people,
  • 41:27 - 41:29
    we don't know who
    you're speaking to.
  • 41:29 - 41:30
    It could be anyone here.
  • 41:30 - 41:31
    >> My idea, if you wanted
  • 41:31 - 41:32
    me to call you by name,
  • 41:32 - 41:34
    you'd have put your
    name on your paper.
  • 41:34 - 41:36
    >> It's on my-.
  • 41:36 - 41:37
    >> It was was to
    be on your paper.
  • 41:37 - 41:39
    >> You didn't see
    my papers ma'am.
  • 41:39 - 41:39
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 41:39 - 41:40
    >> I didn't get
    your name either
  • 41:40 - 41:42
    because it wasn't
    on your paper.
  • 41:42 - 41:43
    >> That's right.
  • 41:43 - 41:44
    >> Now, how can one call
  • 41:44 - 41:45
    you by your name if you
  • 41:45 - 41:46
    don't care enough about
  • 41:46 - 41:47
    your name to put
    it on your paper.
  • 41:47 - 41:49
    >> You don't know how
    to read? [OVERLAPPING].
  • 41:49 - 41:50
    >> Don't expect me
    to worry about it,
  • 41:50 - 41:52
    if you don't put
    it on your paper.
  • 41:52 - 41:53
    Don't sit here and say
  • 41:53 - 41:55
    my name is
    important to me,
  • 41:55 - 41:56
    after you have just
  • 41:56 - 41:59
    deliberately not put
    it on your paper.
  • 41:59 - 42:00
    [OVERLAPPING] You're
  • 42:00 - 42:02
    being totally unrealistic.
  • 42:02 - 42:03
    >> I don't remember
    saying my name
  • 42:03 - 42:03
    was important to me.
  • 42:03 - 42:03
    I remember
  • 42:03 - 42:04
    saying I'd like to
    know who you're
  • 42:04 - 42:07
    speaking to when
    you say you three.
  • 42:07 - 42:09
    >> Then what
    should you do?
  • 42:09 - 42:12
    >> Ask you to use my
    name, which I did.
  • 42:12 - 42:14
    >> Where should your
    name have been?
  • 42:14 - 42:15
    >> Right where it is.
  • 42:15 - 42:16
    >> On your paper around?
  • 42:16 - 42:17
    >> On my birth
    certificate.
  • 42:17 - 42:18
    >> Is it on your paper?
  • 42:18 - 42:19
    >> No, ma'am.
  • 42:19 - 42:22
    >> Where did you get
    a birth certificate?
  • 42:22 - 42:23
    >> Same place
    you got yours.
  • 42:23 - 42:24
    >> Out a slot machine,
  • 42:24 - 42:26
    same as you did
    lady. [LAUGHTER]
  • 42:26 - 42:27
    >> I think you're probably
  • 42:27 - 42:28
    right about your
    own. [OVERLAPPING]
  • 42:28 - 42:32
    >> At least I know who
    my parents are ma'am.
  • 42:32 - 42:34
    >> Is she being rude?
  • 42:34 - 42:34
    >> Yes.
  • 42:34 - 42:35
    >> She being
    inconsiderate?
  • 42:35 - 42:36
    >> Very.
  • 42:36 - 42:37
    >> She being
    uncooperative?
  • 42:37 - 42:37
    >> Very.
  • 42:37 - 42:38
    >> She being insultive?
  • 42:38 - 42:39
    >> Yes.
  • 42:39 - 42:40
    >> Are all those the
    things that we've
  • 42:40 - 42:42
    accused blue eyed
    people would be?
  • 42:42 - 42:43
    >> Yes.
  • 42:43 - 42:44
    >> Is she proving
    that we're right?
  • 42:44 - 42:46
    >> Yes.
  • 42:48 - 42:50
    >> Does anyone have any
  • 42:50 - 42:52
    comments to make
    at this point?
  • 42:52 - 42:54
    >> Do you feel that there
  • 42:54 - 42:56
    are important
    blue eyed people?
  • 42:56 - 42:58
    >> There are exceptions
    to every rule.
  • 42:58 - 42:59
    >> What are those
    exceptions?
  • 42:59 - 43:00
    >> There are
  • 43:00 - 43:02
    a few important
    blue eyed people.
  • 43:02 - 43:03
    >> Very few?
  • 43:03 - 43:04
    >> You said that.
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 43:04 - 43:07
    >> Do you think that
    you're one of them.
  • 43:07 - 43:07
    >> No.
  • 43:07 - 43:09
    >> That's good.
  • 43:09 - 43:10
    >> Why are you
    up there then?
  • 43:10 - 43:12
    >> I'm blue-eyed,
    the difference
  • 43:12 - 43:13
    between you and me is I
  • 43:13 - 43:14
    have a brown eyed husband
  • 43:14 - 43:15
    and brown eyed offspring.
  • 43:15 - 43:16
    [LAUGHTER] I've
    learned how to
  • 43:16 - 43:19
    behave in a brown
    eyed society.
  • 43:19 - 43:21
    When you can act
    brown enough,
  • 43:21 - 43:24
    then you too can
    be where I am.
  • 43:24 - 43:26
    >> I wouldn't want
    to be where you are.
  • 43:26 - 43:27
    >> Are you certain?
  • 43:27 - 43:30
    >> Absolutely positive.
  • 43:30 - 43:31
    >> You like where you are.
  • 43:31 - 43:32
    >> I love where I am.
  • 43:32 - 43:34
    >> You like it so much
    that you don't even
  • 43:34 - 43:37
    identify your self
    on your paper?
  • 43:37 - 43:39
    >> I don't need to lady.
  • 43:40 - 43:42
    >> Her using the term
  • 43:42 - 43:43
    lady where I'm concerned,
  • 43:43 - 43:44
    what do you think
    she's trying to do?
  • 43:44 - 43:46
    [OVERLAPPING]
    Is it ignorance
  • 43:46 - 43:49
    or is it deliberately
    insulting?
  • 43:49 - 43:50
    >> [OVERLAPPING] I
    wouldn't say it was
  • 43:50 - 43:51
    deliberately insulting.
  • 43:51 - 43:53
    >> If it's ignorance,
  • 43:53 - 43:55
    she needs to be taught,
  • 43:55 - 43:56
    that do many of us,
  • 43:56 - 43:59
    the word lady is
    a pejorative.
  • 43:59 - 44:00
    I don't appreciate it.
  • 44:00 - 44:02
    [OVERLAPPING] It's a put
  • 44:02 - 44:04
    down and it's used
  • 44:04 - 44:05
    to keep women
    in their place.
  • 44:05 - 44:07
    >> Call you by
    the correct name.
  • 44:07 - 44:08
    >> I'm sorry?
  • 44:08 - 44:09
    >> I will call you
    by your correct name
  • 44:09 - 44:11
    after this, I
    won't be kind.
  • 44:11 - 44:13
    >> That was kindness
    on your part?
  • 44:13 - 44:15
    >> Yes, I think
    calling someone
  • 44:15 - 44:17
    a lady is a kindness.
  • 44:17 - 44:18
    >> Then your problem
    is ignorance.
  • 44:18 - 44:20
    >> You can call me lady
    anytime you'd like.
  • 44:20 - 44:22
    >> I wouldn't
    do that to you.
  • 44:22 - 44:23
    >> Now I know
    you wouldn't.
  • 44:23 - 44:24
    >> I really wouldn't.
  • 44:24 - 44:26
    That's part of
    the problem.
  • 44:26 - 44:28
    Is a total lack of
  • 44:28 - 44:32
    awareness at what
    sexism amounts to,
  • 44:32 - 44:34
    and how much you
    contribute to
  • 44:34 - 44:38
    the sexism that keeps
    you where you are.
  • 44:38 - 44:41
    >> I like where I am lady.
  • 44:41 - 44:43
    I did again, didn't I?
  • 44:43 - 44:44
    >> Yes.
  • 44:44 - 44:45
    >> I'm getting kind
    of fed up with
  • 44:45 - 44:46
    this whole bunch
    of garbage.
  • 44:46 - 44:46
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 44:46 - 44:46
    >> What?
  • 44:46 - 44:48
    >> Brown eyed peoples are
  • 44:48 - 44:50
    no different than we are.
  • 44:50 - 44:52
    I hate to tell them
    that they have
  • 44:52 - 44:54
    these false
    delusions and such.
  • 44:54 - 44:56
    >> Are they being
    disruptive?
  • 44:56 - 44:57
    >> There were
    trained well.
  • 44:57 - 44:59
    >> No, you train
    them very well.
  • 44:59 - 45:01
    I think that's
    what they did with
  • 45:01 - 45:03
    the Storm Troopers
    in Germany also.
  • 45:03 - 45:04
    You guys do a
    real good job,
  • 45:04 - 45:05
    sitting up there.
  • 45:05 - 45:06
    >> You think that
    what's happening
  • 45:06 - 45:07
    here today feels like
  • 45:07 - 45:09
    it would have felt
    in Nazi Germany?
  • 45:09 - 45:09
    >> Yes, sure.
  • 45:09 - 45:11
    >> Who do you think
    you are in that then?
  • 45:11 - 45:13
    >> Where do I think I am?
  • 45:13 - 45:16
    >> If you were in Nazi
    Germany, who are you?
  • 45:16 - 45:24
    >> The Jews? [NOISE]
  • 45:24 - 45:26
    >> After a break
    for lunch,
  • 45:26 - 45:27
    Jane Elliott helped
  • 45:27 - 45:28
    the Corrections
    Department employees
  • 45:28 - 45:31
    analyze what had happened.
  • 45:31 - 45:33
    >> Did you learn
    anything this morning?
  • 45:33 - 45:34
    >> I think I learned
    from the experience
  • 45:34 - 45:36
    of feeling like I
    was in a glass cage,
  • 45:36 - 45:38
    I was powerless,
    there was a sense of
  • 45:38 - 45:42
    hopelessness, I was angry.
  • 45:42 - 45:43
    I wanted to speak
    it up and yet
  • 45:43 - 45:45
    at times I knew
    if I spoke up,
  • 45:45 - 45:47
    I'll be back
    in a powerless
  • 45:47 - 45:50
    situation, I'd
    be attacked.
  • 45:50 - 45:52
    The sense of hopelessness,
  • 45:52 - 45:53
    oppresion [OVERLAPPING].
  • 45:53 - 45:56
    >> Had you ever
    experienced that before?
  • 45:56 - 45:58
    >> I realized this
    morning that there are
  • 45:58 - 45:59
    very few times in my
    life that I've ever
  • 45:59 - 46:01
    been discriminated
    against, very few.
  • 46:01 - 46:03
    >> You are this
    uncomfortable
  • 46:03 - 46:04
    in an hour and a half?
  • 46:04 - 46:06
    >> I was amazed at
    how uncomfortable I
  • 46:06 - 46:08
    was in the first
    15 minutes.
  • 46:08 - 46:12
    >> Can you empathize at
    all then with blacks,
  • 46:12 - 46:13
    minority group members
    in this country?
  • 46:13 - 46:16
    >> I'm hoping
    better than before.
  • 46:16 - 46:18
    >> We tried to
    argue with you.
  • 46:18 - 46:22
    You would use just
    the mere argument as
  • 46:22 - 46:24
    reason for us being
  • 46:24 - 46:27
    lesser than the
    brown-eyed folks.
  • 46:27 - 46:28
    You know, you
    couldn't win.
  • 46:28 - 46:30
    >> Yeah, don't we
    do that every day?
  • 46:30 - 46:32
    >> I think some do, yeah.
  • 46:32 - 46:34
    But I would hope that
  • 46:34 - 46:36
    I never get so
    unreasonable.
  • 46:36 - 46:38
    The statement
    you were making
  • 46:38 - 46:39
    were groundless and
  • 46:39 - 46:40
    such and yet we
    couldn't argue
  • 46:40 - 46:41
    with them because
    if we argue,
  • 46:41 - 46:46
    then we were argumentative
    and not listening
  • 46:46 - 46:48
    and getting into
    our place and all
  • 46:48 - 46:52
    that stuff and that
    was frustrating to me,
  • 46:52 - 46:53
    and then frustrating
    to me was
  • 46:53 - 46:55
    the other little
    green tags
  • 46:55 - 46:56
    are sitting on
    their hands.
  • 46:56 - 46:58
    My group here was,
  • 46:58 - 47:00
    I didn't think, boisterous
  • 47:00 - 47:02
    enough in our opposition
    to the whole thing.
  • 47:02 - 47:06
    >> Why didn't you people
    support one another?
  • 47:07 - 47:09
    The blue eyed
    people on this
  • 47:09 - 47:11
    side just sat there,
  • 47:11 - 47:13
    and let's face it, you
  • 47:13 - 47:16
    covered your asses, right?
  • 47:16 - 47:20
    Why did you
    just sit there?
  • 47:20 - 47:22
    >> I think that's
    symptomatic
  • 47:22 - 47:23
    of the problem as a whole.
  • 47:23 - 47:26
    We see that in
    society in general.
  • 47:26 - 47:27
    We see a few people
    who are making lot of
  • 47:27 - 47:29
    noise and the rest of
  • 47:29 - 47:30
    the people sitting
    back waiting
  • 47:30 - 47:31
    to see what they're
    going to do.
  • 47:31 - 47:33
    >> Okay. As long
    as I was picking
  • 47:33 - 47:34
    on him, I was
    leaving you alone?
  • 47:34 - 47:35
    >> Right.
  • 47:35 - 47:36
    >> I'd say a lot of people
  • 47:36 - 47:38
    accept that they
    let a few people do
  • 47:38 - 47:40
    the fighting for
    them and may stand
  • 47:40 - 47:42
    back and if this
    person's going to win,
  • 47:42 - 47:44
    then they'll get
    on this side,
  • 47:44 - 47:46
    but if that person's
    not going to win,
  • 47:46 - 47:48
    they'll stay
    back over here.
  • 47:48 - 47:50
    That's just how it works.
  • 47:50 - 47:51
    >> If you were in
    a real situation
  • 47:51 - 47:54
    where you had to do
    something about racism,
  • 47:54 - 47:56
    would you stand up
    and be counted?
  • 47:56 - 47:57
    >> What I would
    do, I don't know.
  • 47:57 - 47:58
    It would depend
    on the exigency.
  • 47:58 - 47:59
    [OVERLAPPING]
  • 47:59 - 47:59
    >> But you would
    do something?
  • 47:59 - 48:01
    >> I would have
    to do something.
  • 48:01 - 48:02
    I couldn't go home tonight
  • 48:02 - 48:04
    and face my kids
    if I didn't.
  • 48:04 - 48:06
    >> How did you
    brown-eyed people
  • 48:06 - 48:08
    feel while this
    was going on?
  • 48:08 - 48:09
    >> It was a relief it
  • 48:09 - 48:11
    wasn't a blue-eyed person.
  • 48:11 - 48:12
    >> Sense of relief that
  • 48:12 - 48:13
    you had the right colour
  • 48:13 - 48:16
    of eyes?Absolutely.
  • 48:16 - 48:17
    >> I really understood,
  • 48:17 - 48:19
    at least I felt
    that I understood,
  • 48:19 - 48:22
    what it was like to
    be in the minority.
  • 48:22 - 48:23
    >> Why were you angry?
  • 48:23 - 48:27
    >> First of all, because
    it was unreasonable.
  • 48:27 - 48:29
    Secondly, because I felt
  • 48:29 - 48:30
    discriminated against.
  • 48:30 - 48:32
    Thirdly, I think
    that all of us,
  • 48:32 - 48:34
    everyone in this
    room has dealt
  • 48:34 - 48:36
    with discrimination
    on both sides.
  • 48:36 - 48:39
    You don't have to
    be black or Jewish
  • 48:39 - 48:41
    or Mexican or anything
  • 48:41 - 48:42
    else to have felt
  • 48:42 - 48:43
    discrimination
    in your life,
  • 48:43 - 48:45
    and as you
    become an adult,
  • 48:45 - 48:47
    you learn to deal
  • 48:47 - 48:49
    with those feelings
    within yourself,
  • 48:49 - 48:51
    you learn to handle
    those and when you feel
  • 48:51 - 48:54
    yourself in a situation
  • 48:54 - 48:57
    that you can't get out
    of which we couldn't,
  • 48:57 - 48:59
    we were captive audience.
  • 48:59 - 49:01
    It was not a
    normal situation
  • 49:01 - 49:02
    because normally
    aren't badgered.
  • 49:02 - 49:04
    >> What if you
  • 49:04 - 49:06
    had to spend the rest
    of your life this way?
  • 49:07 - 49:10
    >> I don't know how
    to answer that.
  • 49:10 - 49:11
    >> You don't wake up every
  • 49:11 - 49:13
    morning knowing that
    you're different,
  • 49:13 - 49:15
    you wake up as a
    white woman who was
  • 49:15 - 49:16
    going to her job at
  • 49:16 - 49:18
    eight o' clock
    or whatever,
  • 49:18 - 49:19
    for a black person is
  • 49:19 - 49:20
    going to wake
    up knowing for
  • 49:20 - 49:21
    a minute they
    get up out of
  • 49:21 - 49:22
    the bed and look in
  • 49:22 - 49:23
    the mirror, they're black,
  • 49:23 - 49:24
    and they have to deal
    with the problems
  • 49:24 - 49:25
    they've had to deal
    with ever since
  • 49:25 - 49:27
    they were young and
    realize that I am
  • 49:27 - 49:29
    different and
    I have to deal
  • 49:29 - 49:30
    with life differently.
  • 49:30 - 49:32
    Things are
    different for me.
  • 49:32 - 49:35
    I don't think you can
  • 49:35 - 49:36
    really say that
    you have felt,
  • 49:36 - 49:38
    maybe you felt some
    sort of discrimination,
  • 49:38 - 49:40
    but you haven't
    felt what it is
  • 49:40 - 49:42
    like for a black
    woman to go
  • 49:42 - 49:43
    through the daily
    experiences
  • 49:43 - 49:46
    of arguing and saying,
  • 49:46 - 49:49
    listen to me, my point
    of view is good,
  • 49:49 - 49:51
    what I have to
    offer here is good,
  • 49:51 - 49:52
    and no one wants
    to listen.
  • 49:52 - 49:54
    Because white is right,
  • 49:54 - 49:56
    that's the way things are.
  • 49:56 - 49:58
    >> I think the
    necessity for
  • 49:58 - 50:00
    this exercise is a crime.
  • 50:00 - 50:03
    No, I don't want to see
    it used more widely.
  • 50:03 - 50:04
    I wanted to see
    it's the necessity
  • 50:04 - 50:06
    for it wiped out
    and I think if
  • 50:06 - 50:09
    educators were
    determined that we could
  • 50:09 - 50:11
    be very instrumental
    in wiping
  • 50:11 - 50:13
    out the necessity
    for this exercise.
  • 50:13 - 50:16
    But I want to see
    something used.
  • 50:16 - 50:18
    I'd like to see this
    exercise used with
  • 50:18 - 50:21
    all teachers, all
    administrators,
  • 50:21 - 50:22
    but certainly not with all
  • 50:22 - 50:24
    students unless it's done
  • 50:24 - 50:26
    by people who
    are doing it for
  • 50:26 - 50:28
    the right reasons and
    in the right way.
  • 50:28 - 50:30
    I think you could
    damage a child with
  • 50:30 - 50:32
    this exercise
    very, very easily.
  • 50:32 - 50:35
    I would never suggest
  • 50:35 - 50:36
    that everybody
    should use it.
  • 50:36 - 50:39
    I think you could have
  • 50:39 - 50:40
    training classes
    for teachers,
  • 50:40 - 50:42
    bring them in, put them
    through the thing,
  • 50:42 - 50:44
    explain what happened,
    do the debriefing,
  • 50:44 - 50:47
    and then practice
    doing this until
  • 50:47 - 50:49
    a group of teachers
  • 50:49 - 50:52
    were able to do it on
    their own, and I did.
  • 50:52 - 50:56
    Teachers are not
    disabled learners,
  • 50:56 - 50:58
    they could learn to
    do this, obviously.
  • 50:58 - 51:00
    If I can do it, most
    anyone can do it.
  • 51:00 - 51:02
    It doesn't make
    a super teacher
  • 51:02 - 51:04
    to do this exercise.
  • 51:04 - 51:06
    >> What began in a third
  • 51:06 - 51:08
    grade classroom has spread
  • 51:08 - 51:10
    from students to teachers,
  • 51:10 - 51:12
    to corrections officers.
  • 51:12 - 51:13
    At the center, is still
  • 51:13 - 51:15
    a single teacher
    determined
  • 51:15 - 51:17
    to inoculate her students,
  • 51:17 - 51:18
    both young and old,
  • 51:18 - 51:21
    against the virus
    of bigotry.
  • 51:23 - 51:25
    >> After you do
    this exercise,
  • 51:25 - 51:27
    when the
    debriefing starts,
  • 51:27 - 51:28
    when the pain is over
    and you're all back
  • 51:28 - 51:30
    together and you're
    all one again,
  • 51:30 - 51:32
    you find out how
    society could
  • 51:32 - 51:33
    be if we really
  • 51:33 - 51:36
    believed all this
    stuff that we preach,
  • 51:36 - 51:38
    if we really
    acted that way.
  • 51:38 - 51:40
    You could feel as good
    about one another as
  • 51:40 - 51:41
    those kids feel
    about one another
  • 51:41 - 51:43
    after this
    exercise is over,
  • 51:43 - 51:45
    you create
    instant cousins.
  • 51:45 - 51:46
    I thought maybe that
  • 51:46 - 51:47
    lasted just while
    they were in
  • 51:47 - 51:48
    my classroom because of
  • 51:48 - 51:51
    my superior influence.
  • 51:51 - 51:52
    But indeed,
    these kids still
  • 51:52 - 51:54
    feel that way
    about one another.
  • 51:54 - 51:55
    They said yesterday over
  • 51:55 - 51:57
    and over the
    remark was made,
  • 51:57 - 51:59
    We're kind of like
    a family now.
  • 51:59 - 52:02
    They found out how
    to hurt one another,
  • 52:02 - 52:04
    and they found out
    how it feels to
  • 52:04 - 52:06
    be hurt in that way,
  • 52:06 - 52:07
    and they refuse to
    hurt one another
  • 52:07 - 52:09
    that way again,
    and they said,
  • 52:09 - 52:10
    We're kind of like
    a family now,
  • 52:10 - 52:11
    and indeed we were.
  • 52:11 - 53:02
    [MUSIC]
Title:
A Class Divided (full film) | FRONTLINE
Description:
more » « less
Video Language:
English
Duration:
53:01

English subtitles

Revisions

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