Subsequent research designed to gauge the efficacy of Elliott’s attempt at reducing prejudice showed that many participants were shocked by the experiment, but it did nothing to address or explain the root causes of racism. Stripping away the veneer of the experiment, what was left had nothing to do with race. They didn’t need to engage with a single Black person.īut in reality, I found in researching for my book “Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes” that the experiment was a sadistic exhibition of power and authority – levers controlled by Elliott. They needed not acknowledge their privilege or reflect on it. It seemed to evince that all white people had to do to learn about racism was restrain themselves from an impulse to engage in made-up cruelty. To most people, it seemed to suggest that racism could be reduced, even eliminated, by a one- or two-day exercise. Charlotte Button A darker sideīut Elliott’s experiment had a more sinister impact. Jane Elliott on ‘The Tonight Show’ on May 31, 1968.
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