Jenee Desmond-Harris

As The Root's Senior Staff Writer and White House Correspondent Jenée addresses stories at the intersection of race with culture, politics, social justice, and identity. She provides daily commentary on breaking news stories of interest to the black community – from data on African American employment, health, and education, to President Obama's poll numbers, to black representation on television and film. Her weekly Race Manners column tackles readers' toughest questions about how to navigate interactions across identities and cultures. Jenee is responsible for The Root's series on atheism, obesity, and demographic changes in the African-American community and has interviewed subjects including Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Magic Johnson, Van Jones, and Venus Williams, as well as numerous members of Congress and leading academics. Before joining The Root, she practiced law for four years, and contributed reported coverage of events, cultural commentary, and personal essays to Time, MSNBC, and XOJane. She's a graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School and lives in Washington, D.C. Previously, she was a public affairs fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and worked in the office of Congresswoman Dianne Watson (D-CA).