Debates over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives continue to shape political and cultural conversations across the country, with critics arguing that identity-focused frameworks are increasingly influencing education, politics, and public discourse.
Constitutional law professor Josh Blackman said many of the ideas associated with DEI and critical theory are being introduced to students at increasingly early ages, shaping how younger generations view issues such as identity, culture, and social conflict.
Blackman, who holds the Centennial Chair of Constitutional Law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, said he recently encountered an example of how those concepts can appear in unexpected places while attending a multicultural event at his children’s elementary school.
The event, described as a celebration of different cultures and backgrounds, involved students representing various countries by carrying flags and participating in activities tied to their heritage. While the program was intended to promote inclusivity, Blackman said the structure of the event highlighted the tensions that can arise when identity categories become the primary way students are grouped.
“The entire point of multicultural day is to separate students into different nationalities,” Blackman said. “You have all the Chinese kids together, all the Mexican kids together, all the African kids together. It becomes a very balkanized approach.”
He said the event also created awkward situations in which students with mixed heritage or families that had been in the United States for generations struggled to identify which cultural category they were supposed to represent.
“In many cases, kids just pick some country, even if it’s very remote from their own background,” Blackman said. “It creates an artificial sense of multiculturalism.”
The event also illustrated how geopolitical conflicts can surface even in elementary school settings. Blackman noted that students representing countries currently in conflict were grouped in the same activities, including children carrying Russian and Ukrainian flags during the same parade.
“These are countries that are actually at war with each other,” he said. “But the program assumes that everyone can simply wave flags together and pretend that these issues don’t exist.”
Blackman said the situation also prompted unexpected conversations at home, including questions from his young daughter about conflicts in the Middle East after she saw students representing Israel and Palestine.
The broader concern, he said, is that identity-based frameworks increasingly emphasize differences and historical grievances rather than shared civic values.
“This sort of reinforces the idea that society is structured around different levels of oppression,” Blackman said. “Students begin to see themselves in terms of those categories.”
He said similar dynamics are present in higher education, where debates over identity, activism, and political ideology often dominate campus discussions.
Blackman recalled speaking at New York University Law School about antisemitism, where a group of student protesters interrupted the event. He said the protesters included Jewish students who opposed Israel and framed their position as part of their religious identity.
“The idea is that you can criticize a group only if you are part of that group,” Blackman said. “That’s a concept that’s become increasingly common on campuses.”
According to Blackman, these patterns reflect a broader cultural shift toward analyzing social issues primarily through the lens of identity and power structures.
Those ideas are often associated with academic theories that emphasize systemic inequality and intersectionality, frameworks that critics argue encourage people to evaluate political issues based on perceived hierarchies of oppression.
Blackman said the influence of those concepts can be seen in the way certain groups or perspectives are emphasized in educational programming, sometimes unintentionally creating new divisions.
At the same time, he acknowledged that many educators and school administrators who organize programs like multicultural events do so with positive intentions.
In the case of the elementary school program he described, Blackman said he did not believe school officials were deliberately promoting any particular ideology. Instead, he viewed it as an example of how certain ideas have become embedded in educational practices.
“I don’t think it was intentional,” he said. “But it shows how these frameworks operate in ways people may not even notice.”
Despite his concerns, Blackman said he ultimately chose not to raise the issue formally with school officials, viewing the event as a relatively minor incident rather than a systemic problem within the district.
“There’s only so much you can do,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to parents to teach their kids the right values and to explain things when something at school doesn’t seem right.”
The broader debate over DEI and identity politics is likely to remain a major topic in political and cultural discussions, particularly as those ideas intersect with education, public policy, and the next generation of voters and students.