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Here’s our pick of news, writing, and research this week that investigates political questions at the intersections of gender, race, and region.

1. “Race and Reporting: The case for more inclusive newsrooms
That’s the focus of the Spring issue of Nieman Reports, in which “reporters and editors discuss strategies for creating more inclusive newsrooms and how racially diverse staffs can improve coverage.” The 16 articles include writing by Alicia W. Stewart, Wesley Lowery, Sandra Clark, and Susan Smith Richardson.

2. “Orange Is the New Black Stars Talk Body Image on the Cover of Essence
Today is the release of the third season of the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” The stars of the series are on the cover of the Essence Magazine issue on stands today, discussing body image and beauty standards and with Akiba Solomon.

3. “Michelle Obama Talks About Race and Success, and Makes It Personal
First Lady Michelle Obama gave the commencement address at Chicago’s Martin Luther King Jr. Preparatory High School graduation on Tuesday, the school Hadiya Pendleton attended. This New York Times article includes responses to the speech by Valerie Jarrett, Marcia Chatelain, Representative Terri A. Sewell, and Marian Wright Edelman. Read First Lady Obama’s full speech here.

4. “Our Segregated Summers
In Slate, Jamelle Bouie writes about how the police violence last week in McKinney, Texas, which took place at a community pool, “echoes the long and violent struggles over integrated swimming in the middle of the 20th century.” As courts ordered the desegregation of municipal pools, white Americans ceased using those public spaces in favor of private swim clubs or backyard pools. The shift provoked a disinvestment in public space: “As integration came to the United States, municipal pools were closed, filled in, or left in disrepair.” Related: at Code Switch, Gene Demby writes about a 1964 demonstration at a pool in St. Augustine, Florida. As black youth swam in the pool to protest segregation, the hotel manager poured acid into the water. ‘

5. “Qualified Black Women Are Being Held Back from Management
The Harvard Business Review’s 2015 study of black women and leadership finds that “black women are twice as likely as white women to be leaders in their communities — running a school board, leading a youth initiative, heading up a charity or community organization, as 43% report — but their experience outside of work falls off the radar of management at work.” HBR reports that “46% of the college-educated black women we surveyed say their ideas aren’t heard or recognized” and “only 11% of black women in corporate America say they have a sponsor, a powerful advocate invested in their career success.”

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