Lesley and Cord Lesley and Cord met while Lesley was working at Duke University and Cord was a graduate student at the school. In their very first conversation, Lesley impressed  Cord with her critique of his favorite medieval author, St. Augustine, even though they had very different impressions of him. Despite their differences, the two became friends, and eventually began dating while both graduate students at Duke. Lesley grew up in North Carolina while Cord was raised in New Jersey and Philadelphia. They got married in 2009 and live in Philadelphia with their three year-old daughter. In this episode of the Loving Project, Cord and Lesley discuss the impact of the 2016 election, the intersection of African-American and Southern culture, and their intentional approach to parenting a biracial child You can also read the essay Lesley wrote for WHYY here.