Jane Elliott is an internationally known educator, anti-racism activist, and a sought-after diversity trainer and consultant who came to fame in 1968 when the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King summoned her to teach her third-grade students about what it feels like to be discriminated against.

 

Jane’s “Blue-Eyes Brown-Eyes” anti-racist exercise received national acclaim and was the subject of a Peabody Award winning film called, “The Eye of The Storm.” Jane Elliott is also the recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education and for more than fifty-years she has traveled around the world working tirelessly to eradicate the ignorance that keeps racism, bigotry and discrimination alive.

 

Jane speaks the truth about racism challenging those caught up in white denial and fragility. The award-winning educator, says “I was born in 1933, the year Adolf Hitler and Franklin Roosevelt came to power. I remember what the Nazis did from 1933 until 1945. And I saw that same thing happening in this country where skin color is concerned.” Jane was referencing the 1960’s then but we have learned nothing from our past as today history is repeating itself once again. Racism, antisemitism, bigotry and discrimination are being turned into law in Republican led states across our country. These actions represent a clear and present danger for us all.

 

For those of you who feel racism is a problem of years past just turn on the nightly news and you’ll have a front row seat to witness how racism is causing the destruction of our democracy. Education is the key to reversing what is happening yet sixteen states in this country have passed laws restricting what is taught about black history in the classroom and nineteen more states have bills pending to do the same.

 

Teachers and librarians are being threatened with arrest and firing if they teach the truth about slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, systemic racism and the genocide of indigenous people. This is an all-hands-on-

deck call to American citizens to wake-up, speak out and take action against the hatred, racism, bigotry and lies that are spreading through our country like a deadly epidemic.

 

Tune in to “Behind The Curtain,” and get ready to be inspired by Jane Elliott, the amazing, thought provoking Super-Shero of our time as she speaks truth to power about racism. It is our responsibility(yours and mine) to dismantle racism, bigotry and hatred, and the time to do so is long past due. Join us to hear about actions you can take wherever you live to help abolish hate and inequity.

 

Overcoming obstacles often leads us to discover our true destiny.