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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Tayari Jones' new novel tells a story of love, race, justice and what happens when "normal" people come face-to-face with the unthinkable. -
Brilliant but socially awkward, criminal defense attorney Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) must re-enter the job market after his law firm goes under in the new film Roman J. Israel, Esq.
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Joe Ide and his brothers hung out almost exclusively with the neighborhood kids in South Los Angeles. Years later, the city's old haunts and characters worked their way into his books. -
A survey looks at who feels discriminated against in America. The short answer: everyone, but for different reasons. And for some, it's nothing new. NPR's Code Switch team reports.
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A new biography celebrates the life and legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, who wrote about ordinary black life using extraordinary language. -
In the past five years, the issue of policing — how it's done, whether it's equitable, what happens when deadly confrontations occur — has become more urgent than ever. -
This week 25 years ago, policemen were acquitted in the savage beating of African-American Rodney King. Five days of riots, arson and looting ensued, fueled by deep-rooted tensions that persist today. -
"When a show is well-written, when it has good actors, people want to watch," says Courtney Jones of Nielsen. -
Stop feeling guilty about what you didn't do over the holidays, and take some of these suggestions for reading, watching and listening. You'll feel better, really. -
The actress became famous for her role in TV's Empire, but the road to Cookie wasn't easy. In her new memoir, Around the Way Girl, Henson shares stories of pushing her way to the top.
