Jane Elliott Headshot
Report a problem with this profile
[email protected]

Jane Elliott      

Diversity Trainer, Creator of "Blue Eyes–Brown Eyes" Exercise, Anti-Discrimination Educator

Jane Elliott is a teacher and diversity trainer, widely recognized for her innovative "Blue Eyes–Brown Eyes" exercise. She developed this exercise in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, and first conducted it with her class the following day. The local newspaper published compositions from her students about the experience, which helped launch her career as a speaker against discrimination.

Elliott's exercise was filmed during its third iteration with her 1970 third-grade class, resulting in the award-winning documentary "The Eye of the Storm." This success led to the Emmy-winning retrospective "A Class Divided," which reunited the 1970 class members with Elliott 15 years later. Her work has also been featured in the documentary "The Angry Eye," which highlights the impact of racism on white American college students.

After retiring from teaching, Elliott has committed herself to full-time diversity education. She conducts seminars and lectures internationally, addressing the topics of racism, sexism, and ageism through her seminars such as "A Collar In My Pocket," which includes the initial discrimination exercise, discussion, film viewing, and evaluation. Her influential seminars and lectures, including "The Anatomy of Prejudice" and "Power, Perception & Prejudice," have made her a prominent figure in diversity training at colleges, universities, corporations, and civil service organizations. Elliott has been honored with the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education and has appeared on television shows like "The Today Show," "Tonight with Johnny Carson," "Donahue," and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Additionally, she is the author of the book "A Collar In My Pocket: Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise."

Speech Topics


Power, Perception, and Prejudice

A one-hour presentation during which Ms. Elliott uses audience members and visual aids to help us to recognize, identify, and appreciate the differences on which power is assigned, and some of the ways in which we are conditioned to develop some of our perceptions.

Ms. Elliott has successfully delivered these presentations to a wide variety of audiences throughout the world and is available to present these moving lectures before your group or organization.

The Anatomy of Prejudice

A three-hour presentation during which Ms. Jane Elliott, the adaptor of the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise in teaching about the anatomy of prejudice and the subject of the Peabody Award-winning film, "The Eye of the Storm," introduces and discusses that film and explores with the audience the problems of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and ethnocentrism and the responsibility shared by all of us for illuminating them in and eliminating them from ourselves and our environment.

Those attending the presentation will be encouraged to discuss the issues raised as they relate to their own workplace. They will also be encouraged to discuss the materials presented on the handouts which are designed to help them to identify their own racist statements, behaviors, and attitudes. Participants will receive a list of suggested activities which, if implemented, can help them to decrease the amount of racism in their environment and a list of books which, if read, can provide added insights to the problems of the -isms with which we are all confronted.

News


Jane Elliott Rethinking Race
Souncloud link to radio interview
Long Time Anti-Racism Educator Jane Elliott To Speak In Springfield
Jane Elliott was a teacher in Riceville, Iowa in the late sixties. She says she was disturbed by the way much of white America ...

Related Speakers View all


More like Jane