The Whole Staircase: Films Celebrating 400 Years of African American History & Culture
A Class Divided (1985)
Sociology professor, Julie Blanco-Davila, selected the PBS/Frontline documentary, A Class Divided, for inclusion in The Whole Staircase Film Series.
A Class Divided is about teacher Jane Elliot's lesson on discrimination and the effects of that lesson. “The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, a teacher in a small town in Iowa tried a daring classroom experiment. She decided to treat children with blue eyes as superior to children with brown eyes. FRONTLINE explores what those children learned about discrimination and how it still affects them today.” - Frontline
Julie Blanco-Davila received her Master's degree from Texas Tech University and joined the SJR State faculty in 2006.
Screening Dates and Locations
Screening with Professor Julie Blanco-Davila
June 3, 2019, at 9:00 a.m.
St. Augustine Campus, Room C-116
If you need an interpreter, please contact Dr. Will by May 30, 2019
Film Screening (no presenter)
Date: November 21, 2019
Location: Palatka Campus Library
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Members of the Race Issues Study Circle will be in attendance.
All are welcome to this free event!
Film Information: A Class Divided
"After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., an elementary school teacher in a small Iowa town decided to introduce ideas about racism and discrimination to her all-white class. This classic Frontline episode recounts Jane Elliott’s bold experiment and its provocative approach—awarding special privileges to her blue-eyed students while discriminating against those whose eyes were brown. The program tracks down Mrs. Elliott’s former third-graders to learn what effect those early lessons about ignorance and injustice had on their lives." - distributor's description
Run time: 54 minutes
Licensed through Films on Demand.
Resources for Further Exploration - A Class Divided
Online Resources
An introduction to A Class Divided
An Unfinished Crusade: An Interview with Jane Elliott
Discrimination: Experimental Evidence from Psychology and Economics by Lisa R. Anderson, Roland G. Fryer, Jr. and Charles A. Holt, prepared for the Handbook on Economics of Discrimination
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Books may be checked out by community patrons as well as SJR State students faculty and staff. If a title is located at another campus, the book may be sent to another campus upon request.
Please note: eBooks are only available to current SJR State students, faculty, and staff with a MySJRstate login.
A Class Divided: Then and Now by Call Number: St. Augustine Circulation -- LC212.523 .R53 P48 1987ISBN: 9780300036664Publication Date: 1987-08-01"A book chronicles the lasting effects of Iowa teacher Jane Elliot's experiment in her third grade classroom, captured by ABC News as a documentary Eye of the storm, where she divided her class into groups by eye color. Detailed interviews with former students and observations about the effects of the experiment are included."
Handbook on the Economics of Discrimination by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781847200150Publication Date: 2006-03-29"Discrimination's dynamic nature means that no single theory, method, data or study should be relied upon to assess its magnitude, causes, or remedies. Despite some gains in understanding, these remain active areas of debate among researchers and policymakers. This title presents a range of issues related to this complex and challenging problem."
Leading Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: A Guide for Change by Call Number: St. Augustine Circulation -- LC1099.3 .D465 2015ISBN: 9780807755983Publication Date: 2014-11-01
Celebration • Education • Reflection
H.R.1242/Public Law 115-102, the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act, establishes 2019 as a year of "commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619." The commemoration is intended “to recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African-Americans since 1619; to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had on the United States; and to educate the public about the arrival of Africans in the United States; and the contributions of African-Americans to the United States.” In recognition of this commemoration and with the Act serving as a guide, the SJR State Library has organized a year-long series of events that will provide educational experiences and resources to students and the community that celebrate the history and culture of African Americans.
Site created and maintained by Dr. Christina Will. Pages will be added and maintained throughout 2019.
Maintenance will cease at the end of 2019 but this site will remain accessible.