Abstract
After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher in Riceville, Iowa began conducting an exercise to teach her students about discrimination. The exercise involved defining “superior” and “inferior” groups based on eye color. The exercise had a profound impact on her students. In the debriefing they demonstrated that they understood how discrimination based on race or ethnicity is no different than discrimination based on eye color. They experienced firsthand the negatives of being in the “inferior” group. Mrs. Elliott’s exercise highlights the fact that racism and discrimination in American society and in the world is based on and maintained by a false belief system. Recent Gallup Polls regarding beliefs about President Obama reveal that many Americans continue to maintain false beliefs even in the face of evidence that is contrary to their beliefs. It is important for counselors and psychologists to confront such false beliefs. Viewing the video followed by a well guided discussion could result in the elimination of biases that trainees were previously unaware of. The result would be an improved ability to provide quality services for a wider group of ethnicities.
On March 26, 1985 PBS presented “A Class Divided” as one of the episodes of its Frontline documentary series (Peters and Cobb, 1985). It became one of the most requested programs in Frontline’s history. The Frontline program was based upon a documentary that was first broadcast by ABC News in 1971. It told the story of an exercise conducted by a 3rd grade teacher, Jane Elliot, with her students at an all white school in Riceville, Iowa. The purpose of the exercise was to give her students a lesson in discrimination.
The exercise took place over a two day period. On the first day the children were divided into two groups based on eye color. They were instructed that the blue-eyed children were better than the brown-eyed children and would be given special privileges such as an extra five minutes of recess. Brown-eyed children were described as having lesser abilities and undesirable characteristics and required to wear a collar that would allow their eye color to be identified from a distance. On the second day the roles were reversed. The brown-eyed children were now better than the blue-eyed children and afforded special privilege while the blue-eyed children were defined by the teacher as have a number of negative characteristics.
The immediate result of the exercise was that the students quickly adopted their roles and acted them out according to the expectations of the descriptions given by the teacher. The “inferior” group adopted their inferior role and the “superior” group acted out their role. During the debriefing after the second day the students appeared to have gained in understanding regarding the irrationality of judging someone or discriminating against a group based on race or ethnicity. The reunion 14 years later revealed that the exercise had a lasting impact on the students and influenced the way they were raising their children.
The roles assigned to the children for that one day became real to the children. As a result of the behavioral restrictions placed on the “inferior” group and the special privileges afforded the “superior” group the children by definition behaved differently. Therefore, even before a child’s individual reaction to the circumstances could be observed there were structural differences in opportunities that resulted in differing behaviors. For example, the “superior” group was permitted to have 5 minutes extra time at recess and the “inferior” group was not permitted to play on playground apparatus. Therefore, one set of observable behaviors, such as time in the playground or utilization of playground apparatus would reveal a difference in observable behavior that was separate from individual response to the exercise.
The next level of observation would be how each child or each group in general responded to their assigned roles. In general when the children were assigned to the “inferior” group they experienced anger, frustration and sadness. On the other hand, the children assigned to the “superior” group experience an increase in confidence and power. Some children in the “superior” group teased the other children while the children in the “inferior” group felt like they were in prison.
The changes in the children’s behavior during the exercise were triggered simply by the teacher redefining their roles and identities. A role of either “inferior” or “superior” was imposed on the children by an authority figure. Simply by redefining the children’s role from one day to the next resulted in a different set of behaviors, thoughts, feelings and moods. The children who were “inferior” the day before could now shed their anger, frustration and sadness and feel liberated. On the other hand, those who were defined as “inferior” on the second day now experienced the anger, frustration and sadness experienced by the others the day before. The biggest factor influencing the changes was the authority of the teacher and the students’ willingness to cooperate with the exercise.
Did Mrs. Elliot’s exercise truly create a microcosm of society as it relates to the experience of discrimination? Do the underlining factors that lead to discrimination occur naturally in society? Are our roles and relationships with each other largely determined by external authority and definitions? The short answer would be yes, but similar to Mrs. Elliott’s exercise such definitions would not have very much impact without the cooperation of a majority of the group defined as “superior” and that group would have to have the power to implement the corresponding definitions. As to whether these factors occur “naturally” in society the answer is no. Discrimination has been institutionalized in our society and was based on the Eurocentric view that Europeans are superior to other races or groups. The fact that humans create such definitions makes them just as artificial as the definitions created by Mrs. Elliot for her exercise. Yet for centuries institutions and societies have been structured around such artificial definitions. Therefore, no, the factors that have led to discrimination in our society do not occur “naturally.” The factors are based on false beliefs by persons or groups in positions of authority that have the power to establish definitions regarding who we are as human beings. The Eurocentric worldview is hierarchical with persons of European ancestry placed at the top of the hierarchy. The United States of America was established within such a worldview and developed its institutions accordingly (Sue, 2004). Thus, such things as the genocide of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans were permissible.
After centuries of such false beliefs many laws supporting these beliefs have been eliminated. However, eliminating the laws is not sufficient to change an individual’s personal belief system. Thus, many forms of racism and discrimination continue to be a part American society. The continued existence of such groups as the Ku Klux Klan or a variety of Neo-Nazi groups is overt evidence that racist beliefs continue to exist. Covert forms of racism are perhaps more dangerous. We have recently emerged from a historic presidential campaign season. A focus that gained a significant amount of traction was the “birther” issue that claims President Obama should not be president because he is not an American citizen. Questions also continued to surface regarding whether or not he is Muslim. A Gallup Poll completed after President Obama released his Hawaiian birth certificate showed that only 47% believed that President Obama was “definitely born in the United States” (Morales, 2011). Such false beliefs are a covert reflection of racism in contemporary American society.
Counselors and psychologists are generally trained to be non-judgmental. However, personal opinions and beliefs sometimes interfere with an individual’s ability to remain objective and not engage in judgments based on personal opinion and bias. The viewing of the video could be helpful during the training of therapists provided they were open to considering the fact that they might possess biases against other groups. A good training facilitator could lead a discussion about the video that would highlight certain key points and get honest reactions from those being trained. The viewing of the video by an ethnically mixed group of counselors and psychologists followed by adequate discussion could present an opportunity for individuals to become more aware of biases that they may not be fully conscious of. Becoming aware of an undesirable bias can result in immediate and lasting behavioral change. The counselors and psychologist would be able to provide services to a wider group of ethnicities while maintaining a non-judgmental attitude and objectivity.
Jane Elliott’s exercise had a profound impact on her students. In the debriefing they demonstrated that they understood how discrimination based on race or ethnicity is no different than discrimination based on eye color. They experienced firsthand the negatives of being in the “inferior” group. Mrs. Elliott’s exercise highlights the fact that racism and discrimination in American society and in the world is based on and maintained by a false belief system. Recent Gallup Polls regarding beliefs about President Obama reveal that many Americans continue to maintain false beliefs even in the face of evidence that is contrary to their beliefs. It is important for counselors and psychologist to confront such false beliefs. Viewing the video followed by a well guided discussion could result in the elimination of biases that trainees were previously unaware of. The result would be an improved ability to provide quality services for wider group of ethnicities.
References
Morales, L. (2011) Obama's birth certificate convinces some, but not all, skeptics. Gallup Politics. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/147530/obama-birth-certificate-convinces-not-skeptics.aspx.
Peters, W. (Writer, Producer and Director) & Cobb, C (Writer). (1985). A class divided (Television series episode). Frontline. Arlington, VA: PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html
Sue, D. (2004). Whiteness and ethnocentric monoculturalism: Making the "invisible" visible. American Psychologist, 59(8), 761-769. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.761
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