
Leah Donnella
Leah Donnella is an editor on NPR's Code Switch team, where she helps produce and edit for the Code Switch podcast, blog, and newsletter. She created the "Ask Code Switch" series, where members of the team respond to listener questions about how race, identity, and culture come up in everyday life.
Donnella originally came to NPR in September 2015 as an intern for Code Switch. Prior to that, she was a summer intern at WHYY's Public Media Commons, where she helped teach high school students the ins and outs of journalism and film-making. She spent a lot of time out in the hot Philly sun tracking down unsuspecting tourists for on-the-street interviews. She also worked at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of College Houses and Academic Resources.
Donnella graduated from Pomona College with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies.
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One in five Black Americans are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. But feeling embraced or understood by the U.S. can seem daunting for some, and impossible for others.
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Being able to drive makes life easier. It can open up job opportunities. But it also has challenges, especially if there's a language barrier. And traffic stops can be especially high stakes.
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What's it like to be a Black immigrant or refugee in America? We had a hundred or so conversations with people in Tennessee — one of the Blackest states in the country — to find out.
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For many Americans, it goes without saying that the police help maintain public safety. But many others — especially black Americans — see the police as more of a threat than a protective force.
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Fires are blazing across southeast Australia. Scenes of smoke, sparks and blazing red capture the destruction happening in towns around the country.
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Some years the virus would wipe out a tenth of the population, earning New Orleans the nickname "Necropolis." The gruesome disease killed thousands, scapegoated immigrants and upheld white supremacy.
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There are lots of misconceptions about dark skin and sunshine. One of the most common? That black people can't get skin cancer.
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In a new book, historian Marc Dollinger argues that the conventional wisdom of Jewish and African-American harmony during the civil rights era is flawed. And that the real story has lessons for today.
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You could say it's been a pretty turbulent week on the race beat.
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Prince on defining his music: "The only thing I could think of, because I really don't like categories, but the only thing I could think of is inspirational."