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from the issue of January 11, 2007
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Awards, keynote to honor MLK
BY KELLY BARTLING, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Jane Elliott, teacher, diversity trainer and creator of "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise, is the keynote speaker for UNL's observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
At a 2 p.m. program Jan. 15 at the Nebraska Union, Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor, will introduce the program and winners of chancellor Harvey Perlman's annual "Fulfilling the Dream" awards.
The 2007 recipients of the Chancellor's Fulfilling the Dream award are Oscar Harriot, deputy ombudsman for the state of Nebraska, and Christy Horn, ADA/504 compliance officer for the University of Nebraska.
Horn founded UNL's Office of Services for Students with Disabilities and now works with all four NU campuses to ensure that the university offers equal educational and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
In addition to his work as deputy ombudsman, Harriot is an active community leader who founded the Lincoln Community Gospel Choir and serves on the Lincoln Human Rights Commission. He helped establish the annual MLK Capitol Commemoration in the Capitol Rotunda and co-chairs the Chief Standing Bear Capitol Rotunda Commemoration.
The award was established in 1997 to honor individuals who have contributed to the UNL community or Lincoln by promoting the goals and vision of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Jan. 15 event at UNL is the first of four days of reflection, celebration and discussion about the life of the influential civil rights leader. Classes at UNL are cancelled on that day to allow students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public, full access to King day-related events. The 2 p.m. program is free and open to the public.
In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. April 4, 1968, elementary school teacher Jane Elliott devised a simple exercise for her class: "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes." 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. From this one exercise in her Riceville, Iowa, classroom, she has become well-known for opening others' eyes to the nature of racism and prejudice.
The Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes exercise was the subject of the Peabody Award-winning film, "The Eye of the Storm," and a PBS "Frontline" documentary, "A Class Divided." A more recent documentary about her work is "Blue Eyed" (1995) which sums up 28 years of experience in schools, universities and corporations.
Elliott's work illuminates problems of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and ethnocentrism, and the responsibility shared by all for illuminating them in and eliminating them from ourselves and our environment.
Martin Luther King Jr. week activities at UNL are detailed below.
Unless otherwise noted, all are fee and open to the public.
Jan. 15
2 p.m., Chancellor's Program, Nebraska Union Auditorium, keynote address by Jane Elliott, internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer and creator of the "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise
Jan. 16
12:30 p.m., Brown Bag Lecture, East Union: "Immigration and Labor Issues," Gene Crump, NU associate general counsel and Peter Levitov, special assistant general counsel
6:30 p.m., Movie Night, UNL Culture Center, "Sarafina," Dawne Curry, assistant professor of history and Ethnic Studies, UNL, moderator
Jan. 17
12:30 p.m., Brown Bag Lecture, Nebraska Union: "The Dream: Losing by Achieving," Byron D'Andra Orey, assistant professor of political science, UNL
6:30 p.m., Stories of Home Coffee House, Culture Center, "All Deliberate Speed," featuring the story of Lela Knox Shanks and art of Ann Gradwohl; presentation by Gregory Rutledge, assistant professor of ethnic studies and English. North Star High School will perform "A Woman Called Truth," a play based on the life of Sojourner Truth. Awards will be presented to UNL's winning essay authors who will read their works
Jan. 18
11:30 a.m., Student Play, Nebraska Union: "Big Words, Strong Words," directed by Willie Banks, Clinton Elementary
6:30 p.m., Movie Night, UNL Culture Center, "Citizen King," Patrick Jones, assistant professor of history and Ethnic Studies, UNL, moderator.
Jan. 20
6:30 p.m., 12th Annual APU MLK Banquet, Nebraska Union, "The Nexus: Women, Religion, Race and Civil Rights," by Bettye Collier-Thomas, professor of history, Temple University.
For more information on MLK Week events, go online to http://mlkweek.unl.edu.
GO TO: ISSUE OF JANUARY 11
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