Racism and Prejudice

A Tale of O, the most popular video about diversity worldwide, is unique both in style and content. It shows the striking consequences of being "different" from the others around you - being an O among X's. The videotape illustrates dramatically how this alone powerfully affects both the X's treatment of an O and the O's view of itself, regardless of the nature of the difference. Whether the O differs from the X's by gender, race, age, language, age or other factors, the effects are similar.

The Blue-Eyed diversity training video or DVD offers viewers a chance to watch a full-length workshop with America's most dynamic diversity trainer, Jane Elliott. Elliott's exercise, initiated in 1968 as a ground-breaking experiment in anti-racist training, has been featured on Today, the Tonight Show, Donahue, Oprah, ABC News and PBS' Frontline. Elliott believes, Blue-Eyed is by far the most comprehensive and useful video on my work available; it sums up 28 years of experience in schools, universities and corporations."

Encourage students to explore biases and stereotypes with this group of ABC News segments. Each scenario puts actors into exchanges with unwitting bystanders, generating a wide range of responses-from overt hostility towards other races and cultures to acts of genuine compassion. Scenes include a bakery clerk's refusal to serve a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf; cruelty towards an overweight woman seated on a boardwalk; a very public argument that threatens to become violent; and a purse-snatching in a crowded square, after which witnesses are asked to view a suspect lineup. Repeating the two latter situations, producers achieve varying reactions among onlookers by switching the races of the actors. (37 minutes)

Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher in an all-white, all-Christian small town, wanted to teach her class what it feels like to be discriminated against based on a physical characteristic over which one has no control.

This emotionally charged program follows five participants of different ethnic and racial backgrounds through a three-day Unlearning Racism workshop. As the workshop begins, a European-American man offends his African-American workshop partner by making a joke during a one-on-one dialogue. The incident sparks anger among African-American participants, who openly confront the offender. White participants in the workshop express their frustration over their inability to understand the reactions of the people of color. The five main participants later meet to reflect on the honest sharing of feelings that took place during the workshop. This program represents both a strong statement on the complex issues surrounding racism and an honest depiction of the difficulties involved in resolving them. (57 minutes)

This program unflinchingly explores the history and practice of racism through its extreme manifestations-slavery, the Holocaust, segregation, bias crimes, racial profiling-and its more subtle demonstrations, such as the pernicious subconscious biases that can exert an influence on everyday behavior. Hidden-camera footage, a demonstration of the provocative Greenwald/Banaji bias-sensitivity test, and interviews with victims of racism, advocates for equality, and others make this an especially important program. A Discovery Channel Production. (47 minutes)

A great classroom conversation starter, this ABC News program explores the kinds of incidents and behavior that prompted The New York Times reporter Lena Williams to write an article entitled, The Everyday Interactions that Get under the Skin of Blacks and Whites." Focus groups polled and interviewed on the subject reveal how statements, gestures, and even body language can be interpreted-rightly or wrongly-as racial prejudice. (10 minutes)"

Racial tension has become a politically explosive and socially divisive threat to stability in the European Union. This program looks at the racism and xenophobia brought to the surface by a massive influx of foreign workers and job-seekers into Western Europe; it also describes the search for equitable solutions by moderate EU leaders and citizens. Islamophobia, religious fundamentalism, the radicalization of young Muslim men, and racism in football (or soccer) are all examined. With insight into modern Europe's cultural and political dynamics, the film presents commentary from Mahmud Al-Rashid of the Muslim Council of Britain, British National Party spokesperson Colin Smith, European Parliament president Josep Borrell, and everyday people on the street. (27 minutes)

It is the most superficial of human differences-one that is literally only skin-deep. Nevertheless, as an ideological construct, race has sparked warfare, influenced politics, and shaped global economics for over five centuries. This three-part series dissects ideas of racial categorization and illuminates the history of racism as it unfolded in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Showing how Eurocentric attitudes toward the Other" evolved in response to historical events, the series identifies and explores the profound impact of racism on science, culture, and collective memory. Each episode features the expertise of prominent historians, philosophers, and political observers from all over the world. A BBC Production. 3-part series, 53 minutes each."

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." This illuminating program, filmed during a guided tour of civil rights landmarks, blends potent archival footage and photos with group discussion to sensitively explore race relations in the U.S. Visits to Selma, Montgomery, Birmingham, Memphis, Atlanta, Orangeburg, and other locations, combined with eyewitness accounts of key events by survivors of those years, steer the group's dialogue. Together, these concerned individuals-white as well as black-grapple with the issues of anger, identity, prejudice, discrimination, education, and reconciliation. (58 minutes)"