>> Support materials: Chapter 14


Chapter 14: Race and reconciliation in Australia

 

Case studies Video clips Weblinks Further reading Podcasts
Case studies Video clips Weblinks Further reading Podcasts

Case study 1

Restoration of social order
Noel Pearson, the Director of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, believes that Indigenous communities are being destroyed by dependency on government and what he terms 'passive welfare'. He points out that in Indigenous communities such as Cape York, employment rates are low, incomes are low, health outcomes are low, education levels are low, and passivity is high. By way of illustration of the unintended outcomes of government policies, he cites as an example that, in 1965, equal wages for stock workers on rural properties were awarded, which led to the loss of jobs of Aboriginal workers. In 1967, when the Aboriginal people were granted the right to vote, they also gained the right to unemployment benefits. The result was that many Aboriginal men no longer worked on rural properties and drifted to the margins of country towns and collected unemployment benefits. For some, this meant money was available for alcohol or other kinds of substance abuse, and it ultimately led to social dysfunction.

In the Mills Oration to the College of Physicians in 2006, Pearson said that it was not just poverty that was the problem in Aboriginal communities such as Cape York; rather, it was passivity and substance abuse that had led to the breakdown of the social and cultural norms. Pearson believes that Indigenous people should have the right to take responsibility and restore social order in their own communities.

Reference
Pearson, N. 2006, 'Our Vision for the Future of Cape York Peninsula', Arthur Mills Oration to the College of Physicians, 7 May, 2006.
http://congress.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=ABAD2ABA-AFA8-8982-78FEE16B6A630A89 (accessed October 2006).

Discussion questions

  1. Do you agree with Noel Pearson's view that 'passive welfare' is a major contributor to disadvantage in Indigenous communities?
  2. Pearson's viewpoint is that of 'practical' rather than 'symbolic' reconciliation. Do you think that this is too conservative an approach?
  3. Pearson talks of the restoration of norms and values to Indigenous communities in order to restore social order. Using sociological theory, what is your view of such an approach?

Case study 2

Experiencing racism: Jane Elliot's blue eyes/brown eyes experiment
Jane Elliot was a primary school teacher who, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, devised a simple role-playing exercise to allow her students to experience everyday racism. The blue eyes/brown eyes experiment became the subject of a documentary that has spawned a number of sequels and that creates regular public controversy, particularly when the exercise is successfully applied to adults.

The experiment uses eye colour as the basis for discrimination, by separating people into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups. Brown-eyed people are designated as superior and blue-eyed people are defined as inferior by applying the negative stereotypes usually associated with people of colour. (Green- and hazel-eyed people are usually placed in the brown-eyed group).

Blue-eyed people must wear a collar so that they can be clearly identified and are placed in a separate room while the brown-eyed people are instructed on how to act. The groups are brought together and the blue-eyed people are systematically subjected to discriminatory treatment while being taught about their national history in a way that exposes cultural bias. Blue-eyed people are treated as incompetent and lazy, and given an IQ test they cannot pass, further reinforcing their 'incompetence'. Brown-eyed people are treated with respect, are viewed as naturally superior and are provided with various privileges, such as the freedom to move, to freely associate and talk, and to have access to various 'perks'.

At the conclusion of the exercise, participants are asked to describe their experiences in terms of what they did and how they felt during the exercise, and invariably the fundamental underpinning of racist beliefs and actions (or inactions) are exposed. Participant reactions tend to be highly emotional (with some expressing anger) as they discuss the experience of power, powerlessness, and discrimination.

References and further resources
There are various DVDs and videos of this experiment, such as: Eye of the Storm (1970), A Class Divided (1984), Blue Eyed (1996), The Angry Eye (2001), and a local version called Australian Eye (2001).

Jane Elliot's website: http://www.janeelliott.com

A Class Divided—PBS supporting website:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided

Discussion questions
Most university and public libraries will have access to one of Jane Elliot's documentary films, or you can access streamed segments of the experiment online. After watching one of the documentaries, reflect on your reactions to the material and the issues raised.

  1. How influential do you think racial stereotypes are in contemporary Australia?
  2. What do you think perpetuates racist beliefs?

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