YWCA R.A.C.E. Committee to host diversity training
by Internationally known trainer Jane Elliott
(tickets currently on-sale)
TOPEKA, KAN. – The YWCA R.A.C.E. (Resource and Advocacy for Change and Equity) Committee is hosting diversity training on April 30, 2009. Jane Elliott (see biography below) will be leading these sessions through her lecture titled “The Anatomy of Prejudice”. This exercise introduces and discusses the film "The Eye of the Storm," 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.
There are to be two sessions held on April 30: ·
Session 1
8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Cost: $30 per person
Mabee Library – Washburn University
Target Audience: Corporate and Governmental Entities ·Session 2
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person
Washburn Room – Washburn University Union
Target Audience: Community-wideTickets to either of these two events can be purchased by calling Lover Chancler, YWCA Racial Justice Coordinator, at 785-233-1750, ext. 217 or at http://www.ywcatopeka.org .
Jane Elliott's training is being presented by the YWCA of Topeka and is sponsored by St. Francis Health Center, Kansas Air Army National Guard, Washburn University, Kansas Human Relations Association, Brown Foundation, Topeka Human Relations Commission, and Brown v. Board National Historic Site
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About Jane Elliott
In 1968, Jane Elliott was just another American schoolteacher. She taught third and fourth grade at a school in Riceville, Iowa, which was a very typical, all-white, small American town.Jane had tried to introduce her students to the idea of racial equality. She had even appointed Martin Luther King Jr. as the class's ‘Hero of the Month', but she struggled to explain what racism was really like to the all-white class. They seemed keen to learn, but had never seen a black person in real life.
After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Jane tried a more direct exercise to bring the truth home about racial discrimination. It was an exercise which was to change her life.
Jane Elliot told her pupils a pseudo-scientific explanation of how eye color defined people: blue eyes showed people were cleverer, quicker, more likely to succeed. They were superior to people with brown eyes, who were described untrustworthy, lazy and stupid. She then divided the class according to who have brown eyes and who had blue eyes. To ensure clarity of the divisions-given that some eye colors might be subject to dispute, she used ribbons to mark out the ‘inferior' brown-eyed children (those that did not have blue or brown eyes were merely bystanders). To reinforce the situation, she gave the superior group extra classroom privileges, and would not let the brown-eyed children drink from the same water fountain. She made a point of praising the blue-eyed children, and being more negative to the browns.
She was amazed by the speedy transformation in her class. The blue-eyed children became arrogant, bossy and unpleasant to their brown-eyed classmates. Those with brown-eyes who once excelled in the classroom began to stumble over simple questions and those with blue-eyes that once had trouble began to excel.
After a few days Jane told the children she had made a mistake and it was actually the other way around and the brown-eyed children were actually superior. They ripped off the now hated ribbons and the situations quickly reversed.
About the YWCA
Founded in 1858, the YWCA is a national organization dedicated to empowering women and eliminating racism. The YWCA of Topeka offers a host of different services for men, women and children of all ages and cultural backgrounds. The YWCA of Topeka offered the city's first before-and-after school care services- which it still provides today along with a full, on-site daycare.
Programs at the YWCA include the Battered Women Task Force, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, the Early Learning Center and Intergenerational Learning School, Kids Quest, fitness and aquatics facilities, outreach education, and more. All YWCA programs are dedicated to fulfilling its mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.
For membership details, a personal facility tour, or information on the YWCA, please contact 785.233.1750 or visit us online at www.ywcatopeka.org .