"It's time to face up to racism," said Jane Elliott, teacher and anti-racism activist, in delivering the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative lecture April 5 in Sage Chapel.

Elliott created the widely adopted "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise, during which participants are labeled as inferior or superior based on eye color, giving them an experience of prejudice. The exercise has become one of the most famous and controversial practices in American education.

She described the first time she implemented the exercise to her all-white, all-Christian grade-school class in Riceville, Iowa, during the week of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. The blue-eyed children were not permitted to use the same water fountain as the brown-eyed children, and they were called in from recess early.

"That day I sent those students home less ignorant," she said.

Yet, 40 years later, racism persists in this country, she said.

"Make no mistake about this: I know why I'm hired to give these lectures. Number one: I'm short, so I'm not intimidating. Number two: I'm female, so I have no real power. Number three: I'm old, so people say, 'well, we have to respect our elders so we'll be nice to her.' And number four: I'm white, so I have credibility," Elliott said.

She explained that, "we make racist statements all the time, and it doesn't bother us at all."

Nearly all the 50 or so people in the audience raised a hand when asked, "How many of you have heard the statement, 'I don't see people as black or red or brown'?" Elliott pointed out that the word "white" is almost never included in that statement.

"We white people say that constantly, and it never occurs to us that what we're saying, by omission, is 'it's all right to be white.' We can see white and not be embarrassed or have any shame or guilt," she said.

"When people say, 'I don't see you as black,' they're either a liar, a fool or physiologically color blind," Elliott said. Color is more than skin deep, she said; it's part of who we are.

"We are not all the same inside," she said. Because of our differences in age, gender, genetics and individual experiences we are not all equal.

Elliott took care to distinguish between equality (being the same as) and equity (being treated justly). "The constitution does not guarantee you equality. Forget equality -- fight for equity," she said.

Rather than refer to the United States as a melting pot, Elliott said, "I think it should be a stir-fry -- you want each element to maintain its individuality," she said.

She argued that the best way to combat racism is through education. "To educate means to lead out of ignorance," she said. "So educate yourselves, white folks!"

The lecture was sponsored by Cornell United Religious Work.

Graduate student Melissa Rice is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.