Philadelphia may be the cradle of American democracy. But the city has a difficult history with race. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s new project, “A More Perfect Union,” is seeking to shed light on the city’s historic racism. It started with itself, acknowledging a history of its role in perpetuating racism in the opening story “Black City. White Paper.” On today’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by veteran political journalist Errin Haines. She’s leading the Inquirer’s year-long project to expose the bias at the foundation of Philadelphia’s institutions. They talk about what the city –and the country– could learn from the effort. Guest: Errin Haines, veteran political journalist and a founder of The 19th*, a news non-profit focused on gender, politics, and policy.  Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices