Michele Norris

Michele Norris is an award-winning journalist and NPR host and special correspondent. Norris also leads “The Race Card Project,” an initiative to foster conversations about race and cultural identity that she created after publication of her 2010 family memoir, The Grace of Silence. In 2014, The Race Card Project was honored with a Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media. Prior to joining NPR in 2002, Norris spent nearly ten years as a reporter for ABC News. She has also worked as a staff writer for The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. While at the Shorenstein Center, she led a series of study groups on the role of race and cultural identity in politics, policy and pop culture.

Announcing the Winner of the 2022 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting

April 5, 2022

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to present the 2022 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting to: “FEMA’s Disasters” by Hannah Dreier and Andrew Ba Tran of The Washington Post. About the winning investigative reporting project, and its impact: Washington Post reporters spent 2021 traversing the

Michele Norris to be honored with the 2022 Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism

March 22, 2022

The Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism is given annually for outstanding contributions to the field of journalism, and for work that has enriched our political discourse and our society. This year’s winner is Michele Norris, whose career in print, television, and radio has made her a leading voice on race, identity, and the

Award-Winning Journalist and Former NPR Host Michele Norris Uncovers America’s Attitudes about Race

March 24, 2016

March 24, 2016 — Michele Norris, spring 2015 fellow, discusses taking her Race Card Project, which explores race and identity in the U.S., to college campuses on WXXI’s “Need to Know.” Watch the episode.

Michele Norris Discusses “The Race Card Project”

January 25, 2016

January 25, 2016 — Spring 2015 fellow and former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” discusses her initiative aimed at fostering dialogue about race on Vermont Public Radio. Listen to the interview.

Podcast: How Social Media Shaped Coverage of Ferguson Protests

August 17, 2015

August 17, 2015 — On this installment of the Shorenstein Center’s Media and Politics Podcast, Wesley Lowery, reporter at The Washington Post, discusses his extensive coverage of Ferguson, Missouri, and its lessons for the media. Also featuring Michele Norris, NPR host and special correspondent, and Spring 2015 Joan Shorenstein Fellow. Download episodes and subscribe on iTunes,

Michele Norris on “Washington Week”

June 26, 2015

June 26, 2015 — Michele Norris, NPR host and special correspondent and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Spring 2015), discussed the aftermath of the Charleston massacre and the renewed debates over the issues of race, gun violence and the Confederate flag, and the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling, on “Washington Week with Gwen Ifill.” Watch video on PBS’s website.

Six Words: “My Name is Jamaal … I’m White.”

May 6, 2015

May 6, 2015 — The latest installment of NPR’s “The Race Card Project” explores the impact of names. From Michele Norris, current Joan Shorenstein Fellow. Read more.

Michele Norris (right) and Alex S. Jones

“Always Under the Skin of America”
How Can an Informal Social Media Experiment Provide a Springboard for Formal Policy and Institutional Discussions about Race and Cultural Identity?

May 4, 2015

This session is part of the study group series, How Shifts in Race and Cultural Identity Influence Politics, Policy and Pop Culture, led by Michele Norris. Seminars are for Harvard students only (graduate and undergraduate), and are not-for-credit. Description: Over the course of this series there have been many rich discussions examining issues and case studies from

Media and Politics: What’s Next?
A Conversation with the Joan Shorenstein Fellows

April 21, 2015

April 21, 2015 — The Shorenstein Center closed its spring semester event series with a conversation with the Spring 2015 Joan Shorenstein Fellows: William E. Buzenberg, former executive director of The Center for Public Integrity, Jackie Calmes, national correspondent for The New York Times, Michele Norris, NPR host and special correspondent, and David Weinberger, senior

Study Group: “Stereotypes like stains can still linger”— Examining the power of cultural stereotypes

April 19, 2015

This session is part of the five-week study group series, How Shifts in Race and Cultural Identity Influence Politics, Policy and Pop Culture, led by Michele Norris. Seminars are for Harvard students only (graduate and undergraduate), and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space. Description: Why and how do stereotypes take root? What is the

Study Group: “Not what you think I am” On the question of identity — who gets to choose?

April 6, 2015

Michele Norris: Family Secret And Cultural Identity Revealed In “Little White Lie”

March 23, 2015

March 23, 2015 — Michele Norris, Joan Shorenstein Fellow Spring 2015, interviews the filmmaker and subject of the documentary, “Little White Lie,” in which a woman learns about her unknown African-American ancestry. Read more on NPR’s Code Switch.

Study Group: “Racism is a flesh colored bandaid” – Examining the color of commerce

March 6, 2015

Study Group: The role of race in the race to win votes

March 2, 2015

This session is part of the five-week study group series, How Shifts in Race and Cultural Identity Influence Politics, Policy and Pop Culture, led by Michele Norris. Seminars are for Harvard students only (graduate and undergraduate), and are not-for-credit. Description: Campaigns increasingly analyze and scrutinize enormous amounts of data on opinions and behavior to determine which voters

Study Group: Eavesdropping on America’s Hidden Conversation about Race

February 24, 2015

Seminars/Study Groups with Nick Sinai and Michele Norris

February 6, 2015

Data, Technology and Innovation in Government Seminar Series Led by Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Topics will include smart cities, government digital services, privacy and data portability, data journalism, and more. Wednesdays, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m., starting February 4 Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate),

In Six Words, The Race Card Project Has Begun a Different Conversation about Race

March 11, 2014

March 11, 2014 – What started as an experiment with 200 postcards turned into a life-changing project for Michele Norris, host and special correspondent for NPR. She started the Race Card Project as a way to begin a new conversation about race and cultural identity, and now thousands of submissions from postcards, the web and Twitter all make up a large database of thoughts, ideas and voices.