Episode
Frontline: A Class Divided
Overview
One day in 1968, Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small, all-white Iowa town, divided her third-grade class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups and gave them a daring lesson in discrimination. This is the story of that lesson, its lasting impact on the children, and its enduring power 30 years later.
Details
- Series
- Frontline
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 9
- Air date
- 1985-03-26
- Runtime
- 53 min
Episode context
A Class Divided is Episode 9 in Season 3 of Frontline. It aired on 1985-03-26. The runtime is 53 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 8: Buying the Bomb
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh presents his first television investigation for Frontline. After six months of work, Hersh uncovers the story of a Pakistani businessman who tried to ship electrical devices which can be used as nuclear bomb triggers out of the US to Pakistan.
Episode 10: Potomac Fever
Every two years, a desire to represent their home districts in Washington brings a group of first-time freshmen congressmen to the nation's capital on the shores of the Potomac river. Frontline follows two newly elected representatives from their homes to Washington where they experience the rewards-and the frustrations-of making the transition from citizen to congressman.
More episodes from this season
Episode 7: Retreat from Beirut
They went to keep the peace. But 241 died-caught in a military and political cross fire.
Episode 11: Crisis in Central America 1: Yankee Years
From the Spanish-American War in 1898 until the 1950's, US preeminence in Central America and the Caribbean was never successfully challenged. Part 1 looks at these turbulent years that set the stage for today's crises-from the glory days of building the Panama Canal, through the early US Marine occupation of Nicaragua, to the Cold War crisis in Guatemala in 1954, which resulted in the CIA's first 'covert' war in the region.
Episode 6: Down for the Count
Professional boxing is one of the most popular and profitable sports in America. It can also be fatal. Frontline goes inside the world of fighters, promoters, and fans who love the sport-and critics who say it should be banned.
Episode 12: Crisis in Central America 2: Castro's Challenge
The Cuban revolution of the 1950's was the first successful challenge to US preeminence in the Western hemisphere. Part 2 looks at the roots of the revolution, Fidel Castro's rise to power, the establishment of the first Communist state in the Americas, the support for his revolution abroad, and Cuba's troubled history with the United States.
Episode 5: The Child Savers
Over a million cases of child abuse were reported in 1984-and the figure is growing. Frontline follows a dedicated group of case workers from the Emergency Children's Service of New York into homes where they confront violent parents and battered children.
Episode 13: Crisis in Central America 3: Revolution in Nicaragua
In 1979, the Sandinistas led a revolution that overthrew the Somoza dynasty which had ruled Nicaragua for almost 50 years. It was a revolution the US first tried to prevent, then tried to court, and later tried to undermine. Part 3 traces the evolution of US involvement in Nicaragua and the struggle for control of the revolution.
Episode 4: The Lifer and the Lady
He was a convicted murderer. She was a prison volunteer. They fell in love. Frontline follows the story of Ron Cooney, who tries to work his way through the prison system to parole from a life sentence, and Lesley Earl, the woman who wants to help him go straight.
Episode 14: Crisis in Central America 4: Battle for El Salvador
Many Americans had never heard of El Salvador until a few years ago. It is now the focus of American policy in Central America. Part 4 traces the evolution of El Salvador's civil war and the US policy toward El Salvador.
Episode 3: Shootout on Imperial Highway (2)
The trial of gang members accused of conspiracy concludes this special two-part report. Through interviews in prison and inside the housing project where they live in the Watts section of Los Angeles, gang members talk about gangs and why they form, and the threat they pose to ordinary citizens.
Episode 15: Men Who Molest
Experts estimate there are at least four million child sexual abusers in the US, and they do not fit our stereotypes. Almost half of those guilty of incest also molest children outside the family. Many also commit adult rape-and they come from every social background. Should they be treated, punished, or both? Frontline examines a controversial Seattle, Washington, program aimed at treating child sexual abusers.