In 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a question tickled the mind of third-grade teacher Jane Elliott. What if the cure for pervasive and infectious racist hatred is lying dormant in our hearts, just waiting to be accessed? What if racism could be unlearned? What if racism has less to do with the color of one’s skin and more to do with the color of one’s mind? Armed with these questions, Elliott decided to implement what is now one of the most famous experiments in social psychology, known as the Blue-Eye-Brown-Eye exercise.
First, Elliott divided her class into blue-eyed children and brown-eyed children. (Green-eyed children were grouped with brown-eyed children, but were not given their own group.) To explain the division, Elliott told the students that they had been separated based upon intelligence and innate worth. Brown-eyed children were said to be virtuous and intelligent, while blue-eyed children were lazy and dull. This propaganda immediately restructured the social order of the children. Brown-eyed children who were typically shy and kind began to abuse their blue-eyed classmates.
Sharp blue-eyed students performed poorly on assignments in class. Friendships between brown-eyed and blue-eyed children were dissolved in an instant. The following day, Elliott reversed the experiment by telling the students that it was blue-eyed children who were best, but these students, having been mistreated themselves the previous day, were hesitant to discriminate against their dark eyed cohorts. Finally, after both groups had experienced the pain of prejudice, Elliott revealed the ruse to the children.
For Anne Beffel, an individual who experienced the Blue-Eye-Brown-Eye exercise firsthand as a child and a current professor at Michigan Tech, this wasn’t just an unconventional lesson — it was the beginning of a fascination with social justice. Using the Blue-Eye-Brown Eye exercise as inspiration, Beffel has designed an ongoing art project based on the infinite hues of the human iris. With the help of student Alex Pohl and community members Jan-Philipp Rewer, Phillip Wildner and Molly Chabalowski, Board President at Canterbury House, Beffel is recreating unique eye colors as circles in a chain. The project is meant to be easily replicable, so that universities, schools and community centers can make their own eye color chains.
The images can then be shared at www.everycolorofeyes.org. “I’d love to see this project in other universities,” Beffel said. “I want to set up a website so that others can post their chains of eye colors. One goal of this project is just to encourage people to look into each other’s eyes. It’s also a way to remind ourselves that we really are connected, and we share a continuum of color.” “It’s a wonder to be reminded to just look,” said Chabalowski, a part-time music teacher who seems to have unlimited praise for Beffel’s work. “Anne has a propensity for using art to speak out and make a difference.” For Jan-Philipp Rewer and Phillip Wildner, this project is especially poignant. Both men are from Germany. They traveled to the U.S. to volunteer for Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly. “It’s symbolic. It shows that we are all the same. We are all human. We all have eyes. It’s the same with where you come from, what you skin color is, (or) whatever background you have,” said Wildner.
While the eye color project does encourage inclusivity of people from all ethnic backgrounds, it is not necessarily intended to be viewed through a political lens. Beffel said, “One of the nice things about art and metaphor is that I’m not arguing with anybody. Some interpretations may be political, but I do hope people will be thoughtful and specific in their interpretations. The less I say about it, in some respects, the more people can come to their own conclusions.”
In the same way that Elliott impacted the future of her students with the BlueEye-Brown-Eye experiment, the team of artists hopes to change the future for those who view their exhibit. Pohl said, “I took a class with Anne last semester. She invited me to help with her project, and I thought it sounded interesting and important.” As a second-year biology and ecology major, Pohl also makes his mark on the future by working in the greenhouse on campus. “When the seed of democracy has been spread once, it will never die. So I am confident in the future,” Rewer added, offering a knowing smile. To add your eye color to the project, stop by the Van Pelt & Opie Library on Wednesday, March 15, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Monday, March 20, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., or visit Anne Beffel in G04W in Wadsworth Hall on Wednesdays, March 15, 22 and 29, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. You can also email Anne Beffel at info@EveryColorOfeyes.org. Take a moment to truly open your eyes. What you see might astound you.
