Jane Elliott Speaks to High School Students
In recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, March 21, Jane Elliott, an internationally known teacher, lecturer and diversity trainer, addressed more than 400 high school students today, March 19.
The students, representing 13 metro high schools gathered to screen a video based on Ms. Elliott's acclaimed discrimination experiment titled The 30-Minute Blue Eyed. The video was followed by a discussion with Ms. Elliott about prejudice and how it is everyone's responsibility to eliminate it in themselves, and their communities.
"Jane Elliott's visit to Halifax has provided an opportunity for senior public servants, private-sector leaders and high school students to hear about prejudice and bigotry from someone in a position of power and privilege," said Barry Barnet, Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs.
"It is an important message that all decision makers and young people should hear, and what better occasion to deliver it than in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination."
Ms. Elliott's path to diversity education and activism started more than 30 years ago when she was an elementary school teacher in Iowa. In response to a question from one of her students about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., she devised the blue eyes/brown eyes experiment. It labeled students as superior or inferior based solely on eye colour and introduced them to how it felt to be a minority.
Ms. Elliott has since delivered workshops and presentations on prejudice and power around the world. Her videos A Class Divided and Eye of the Storm are used in diversity education courses across North America.
"All institutions in Nova Scotia should be active players in the elimination of discrimination," said Karen Hudson, vice principal of Auburn Drive High School. "Hearing Jane Elliott speak is an opportunity to create awareness about the challenges and realities of overcoming discrimination. The struggle is not over."
The Office of African Nova Scotian Affairs partnered with federal, provincial and municipal governments and various private-sector and community organizations to sponsor Ms. Elliott's visit to Halifax.