Karen Grigsby Bates
Karen Grigsby Bates is the Senior Correspondent for Code Switch, a podcast that reports on race and ethnicity. A veteran NPR reporter, Bates covered race for the network for several years before becoming a founding member of the Code Switch team. She is especially interested in stories about the hidden history of race in America—and in the intersection of race and culture. She oversees much of Code Switch's coverage of books by and about people of color, as well as issues of race in the publishing industry. Bates is the co-author of a best-selling etiquette book (Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times) and two mystery novels; she is also a contributor to several anthologies of essays. She lives in Los Angeles and reports from NPR West.
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As racial tensions were rising in 1964, Mary Peabody, the mother of the Massachusetts governor, went to St. Augustine, Fla., to protest segregation.
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A new biography traces Carmichael's evolution from civil rights activist to an early proponent of the black power movement and international human rights advocate. -
NASCAR's fan base is about 60 percent male and 80 percent white. In an effort to embrace the country's rapidly changing demographics, the sport is pushing hard to diversify its lineup of crews, drivers and fans. -
Popular shows like Modern Family, Parenthood and Grey's Anatomy all routinely feature interracial and multi-ethnic families. It's quite a switch from the 1950s, when Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz broke barriers. -
The PBS documentary traces the progress of two African-American students through one of New York City's most elite private schools. Questions arise about the trade-off of a superior education and the psychological and cultural trauma each boy experiences at times. -
Filmmaker Malcolm Lee most recently directed Best Man Holiday. His production company, Blackmaled Productions, focuses on the image of black men on-screen. -
Most politicians recognize the importance of the Latino vote, but John F. Kennedy might have been the first presidential candidate to actively court it. Viva Kennedy clubs started by former Mexican-American veterans were an important factor in Kennedy's 1960 victory. -
Speculation about her grandmother's life in China in the early 1900s provided Tan inspiration for her latest novel, out Tuesday. Valley is an opus that covers half of a tumultuous century, ranges across two continents and involves love, deceit, forgiveness and, ultimately, redemption. -
Two new books published Tuesday tell the story of Harlem. The first features the white women involved in the Harlem Renaissance. And the second profiles three black female artists during World War II.
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That sweltering August day in 1963, when almost a quarter-million people thronged the National Mall, women were relegated to the background, even as they played major roles in the movement.
