Jane Elliott, creator of the famous blue eyes/brown eyes exercise, to speak at UIS

Photo Courtesy: California State University, San Bernardino

WHAT: Activist and educator Jane Elliott, creator of the well-known blue eyes/brown eyes exercise, will present “Power, Perception and Prejudice” at the University of Illinois Springfield.

WHEN & WHERE:
Friday, September 16, 2016
Students, Faculty & Staff: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., PAC Studio Theatre
General Public: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., PAC Conference Rooms C/D
A book signing will follow the 5:30 p.m. event.

DETAILS: A passionate public speaker against discrimination, Jane Elliott is considered to be the forerunner of diversity training and has been recognized worldwide as an impactful and tireless advocate for equity among all people. A recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education, Elliott exposes prejudice and bigotry, which she calls “an irrational class system based upon purely arbitrary factors.”

In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. over thirty years ago, Elliott devised the controversial and startling, blue eyes/brown eyes exercise. This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority.

During the “Power, Perception and Prejudice” presentation, 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.

All presentations are free of charge.