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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James Van Dyke Evers was only 3 when his father, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, was shot and killed in the family's driveway. Van Evers chose not to follow in his father's footsteps — at what cost? -
In 1955, it was virtually unheard of for a black man to testify against a white person. Willie Reed, who changed his last name to Louis after fleeing to Chicago, died last week at 76. -
DreamWork's Turbohas been touted for having a multicultural cast, but does the movie, with its distinctly "urban" garden snails and its ethnic characters, really move beyond racial tropes? -
George Zimmerman's acquittal in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin spurred emotional reaction around the country. -
Many black parents are agonizing about what Saturday's acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case means for their children. They still worry about whether their kids go to the mall "church-ready" or leave the house with their pants on their hips.
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The 51-year-old actor died on Wednesday in Rome. Reports attribute his death to a heart attack. Gandolfini had been a character actor for years before he was given a chance to read for Tony Soprano in a new series about a New Jersey mob boss HBO was producing in the late 90s.
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African-American and Mexican, Nick Gabaldon carved a path for surfers of color. He died in 1951, but access to surfing can still be limited. -
Many black women in the U.S. have or know someone who has done domestic work. With an expanding black middle class, some find themselves conflicted: To hire help or not? -
Despite the prominence of Asian artists in several aspects of hip-hop, they're still not the most visible performers in the genre. Dumbfoundead wants to be an exception. -
Diedre Melson, John Cox and Pam Thatcher are college-educated parents who once considered themselves part of the middle class. Then the Great Recession hit. A new HBO documentary shows their families desperately trying to make ends meet.
