Posted by Mara H

Program Summary:

Expose members to the pain of racism by experience. While members participate in activities dealing with inequality, a group is singled out by leader and the rest of the group. Concluding conversation discusses feelings and effects of prejudice.  

Full Description:

Though this program is difficult to lead, it truly proves to be an eye opening experience for all the participants.  It is VERY important that as few girls as possible are involved in the program leading/planning and that NO members other than the 1-2 leading know ANYTHING about the program ahead of time.  

We held our program in the library of our synagogue, but it can be held pretty much anywhere successfully.  It can be run with any number of members, but we had about 12 present and I felt this was perfect.  It can be either a very short program or made longer at the discretion of the program leader.  

Room Setup:

Get as comfortable chairs as possible and fill them with pillows etc.  Set in a half circle.  These will be the chairs for the brown-eyed girls while the blue-eyed girls will sit uncomfortably on the floor in the middle.  

Supplies:
--Colored Dots
--Copy of "Chitling Test"[attached] for each girl
--"Chitling Test" answer key
--Pens
--Snacks

Program Timeline:

5:00-- Members arrive.  
Program leader should not socialize. Have girls enter one at a time and obviously check their eye color.  Hand to brown or green eyed girls colored dots equal to the # of blue-eyed girls present and instruct them to place one on the forehead (or tie a scarf on her neck etc.) of each of the blue eyed girls.  Tell the blue-eyed girls they are not allowed to take them off.  

5:05-- Send the blue-eyed girls out of the room.
Inform the brown-eyed girls that: you recently read an article that scientifically proved brown-eyed people were smarter and more caring than blue-eyed people.  Considering the facts, you felt it was your duty and the duty of the brown eyed girls to educate the blue-eyed girls on racism since, as evident by their eye color, they are obviously uncaring people.  Therefore, everything that occurs during the program truly is to benefit the blue-eyed girls.  

Next girl each brown eyed girl a copy of the Chitling Intelligence Test [(attached) which is designed to "test one's racism level" by having test-takers answer obviously racist question that they "should know of they care enough about other cultures to inform themselves"].  Then inform the brown-eyed girls that in order to make sure they score better than the blue-eyed girls and therefore "maintain their position of power and credibility" you will give them half of the answers ahead of time.  Proceed to do so.  Then explain how you will make the blue-eyed girls uncomfortable by sitting on the floor and through you comments for their own good and encourage the brown-eyed girls to do the same.  Explain they are NOT to tell the blue-eyed girls about anything you have said.  

5:15-- Walk outside and tell each of the blue-eyed girls (in a harsh and commanding voice) that this is an EXTREMELY serious program and you EXPECT them to treat it as such.  Any girl not thought to be taking it seriously will be sent out immediately.  **Warning: Do NOT be nice!  I know it is hard to be mean to your sisters, but this program depends on the leader's ability to stay in character the whole time.

5:20-- Bring blue-eyed girls back in and have them sit on the floor surrounded by the brown-eyed girls.  Tell them to shut up and sit down.  Throw them copies of the Chitling Test and tell everyone to take it.  When they ask for pens, berate them for not being prepared and exasperatedly throw pens AT them.  Tell girls to look up when finished. **Due to their already being half finished when the blue-eyed girls start, the brown-eyed girls will finish more quickly.  Continuously make comments to point out how much smarter and more caring the brown-eyed girls are that they completed it so much more quickly and keep bothering the blue-eyed girls still working.  

5:25-- Once all members are finished tell the blue-eyed girls to give their test to a brown-eyed girl.  If any blue-eyed girls take a while or force a brown-eyed girl to move make fun of her or yell at her for it.  Encourage the brown eyed girls to do the same.

5:30--  Call out the correct answers then have each brown-eyed girl read her score as well as the score of the blue-eyed girls that they checked.  However, don't use the blue-eyed girls' names.  Instead, point and call them "blue-y one", "blue-y two" etc.  Make comments about how much better the brown-eyed girls' scores are and how you asked "for {insert blue eyed girl's name]'s score not IQ!" etc.

5:35-- Explain how the test is a measure of one's cultural awareness and those who did well obviously care enough to go out and learn about those unlike themselves.  Comment that maybe if the blue-eyed girls were a little less ignorant and pretentious they would have done a little better!  Apparently though, they, unlike the brown-eyed girls, think their too good to learn about others.

5:40-- Inform everyone that a major component of combating racism is truly listening to other's perspectives and that you will practice today with a listening skills test to see who is capable of this.  Tell members to write what you say word for word without shorthand, numerals etc.  Read the following:
Begin to quickly read the following:
"Number 1.  Good listeners have quiet hands and feet."
Bother blue-eyed girls INCESSANTLY as they write.  
Example 1: If a blue-eyed girl writes a "#1" instead of "Number one" ask her if she was listening when you said NO numerals?!  Then insist maybe she's too dense or maybe she just think she's too good to listen to rules?!
Then read the following:
"Good listeners make eye contact with the speaker"
Example 2:  If a blue-eyed girl writes a number 2, berate her and ask WHERE in your sentence she heard a number 2?!  Insist apparently she's not a good speaker.
Example 3: If you see a girl moving/talking have her read you rule one ("Good listeners have quiet hands and feet.").  Ask her why she is incapable of staying still/ not talking then?!
Example 4:  If a girl is not watching you when you speak inform the whole group that she is obviously a terrible listener because she can't follow the simplest of rules like rule 2 ("Good listeners make eye contact with the speaker").
Have a brown-eyed girl read you her perfect paper.  Congratulate her and all the brown-eyed girls on their communication skills.

5:55-- Due to their "superior listening skills" allow all the brown-eyed girls to get snacks from a table in the room.  DO NOT let the blue-eyed girls get any.

6:05-- Have members write 3 adjectives describing how the other members look to them right now and 3 adjectives describing how they feel.  

6:15-- Have members go around circle and read their adjectives for both groups.

6:20-- Initiate discussion on racism and its effects using the adjectives named.  For example:  If a blue-eyed girl uses the word "defeated" comment how if you can manage to make her feel this way in a hour, what must it be like to live your entire life in MUCH worse circumstances?  Ask for stories from members.  This is a pretty free discussion time; just basically have members talk about why they chose their adjectives, what feelings this program invoked, real-life examples of racism etc.  Talk about steps y'all can take in your schools and lives to combat racism!

7:00ish-- SNACKTIME!!!!

** If you would like to make the program longer, more activities can be added in or the present ones extended.

**  After the program, we attended the concert of Joshua Nelson an African American Jewish-gospel singer and then had him speak to us about his experiences.  While this is obviously not possible for all chapters to do, consider having a member of your Jewish community come speak as a program-wrap up.  
               

Speakers:

Joshua Nelson

Submitter's Suggestions:

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