UNH Assignment Compels Racial Identity Reflections as State Moves to Ban DEI Programs

Durham, NH — A University of New Hampshire class assignment requiring students to reflect on their own race and ethnicity through the lens of a national social justice initiative is raising concerns about compelled ideological expression in public education.

The assignment directs students to participate in The Race Card Project, a program founded by former NPR host Michelle Norris, by crafting a six-word sentence about their racial identity and writing a 3–4 sentence explanation connecting it to classroom materials.

Class Instructions

The instructions are explicit:

“If your 6 words do not in some way reflect your views and experiences of race/ethnicity, you will not receive full credit.”

Students are required to watch a video by Norris, read submissions from others on the Race Card Project website, and tie their reflection to recent lectures, readings, or video clips.

Among the Race Card Project posts cited for UNH students to review is one titled “I will have an inclusive classroom” by UNH student Emily Jackman of Durham, New Hampshire. In her submission, Jackman wrote:

“I have made it a life goal to do as much as I can to be an ally and recognize the privilege I have as a white person. I have just begun to do the work I plan to do by attending Black Lives Matter Seacoast events.”

Jackman added that she would be “constantly… listening, learning, and supporting those around me that are a different race from mine.”

The Race Card Project, which Norris promotes as a tool for racial introspection and understanding, has been adopted by schools, federal agencies, and corporations. In a recent event at the Planet Word museum in Washington, D.C., Norris shared that the project is in use at the “Justice Department… the military… [and] the State Department.”

During that same presentation, Norris showcased real submissions from the project, including:

“White privilege, earned it, enjoyed it.”

She also discussed a recurring theme among submissions from white men who felt excluded from modern America:

“Around 2014, we started to get a lot of cards from men, white men who were talking about feeling invisible… My country doesn’t belong to me anymore.”

Norris further commented:

“A lot of people who are senior citizens today were invested in making sure that people knew their place and kept their place.”

While some educators and students describe the assignment as a chance to reflect and foster empathy, critics say it enforces a singular worldview and effectively penalizes students who prefer to treat race as a private or secondary part of their identity.

The controversy comes as the New Hampshire House of Representatives has advanced a blanket ban on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programming as part of its proposed state budget. On April 2, House Republicans adopted an amendment to House Bill 2 that would prohibit state agencies, municipalities, and school districts from spending taxpayer dollars on DEI initiatives or entering into contracts that include such policies.

The proposed law defines DEI as any program or policy “that classifies individuals based on race, sex, ethnicity, or other group characteristics for the purpose of achieving demographic outcomes.” Public schools would be barred from offering implicit bias training or race-based hiring practices, and would be required to review existing contracts for DEI provisions by October.