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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The reports from the border this week sent a collective shudder through many Japanese American communities around the country. -
Kevin Young's new book of poetry, Brown, is colored by memories from his family and childhood, U.S. history and black culture. -
"Whoever thought that 50 years later, we'd still be talking about the same things? That's kinda sad," Kerner Commission member Fred Harris said. -
Tayari Jones' new novel tells a story of love, race, justice and what happens when "normal" people come face-to-face with the unthinkable. -
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 new biography celebrates the life and legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks, who wrote about ordinary black life using extraordinary language. -
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. -
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. -
In 1948, eight African-American men joined Atlanta's police force. Those pioneer officers — who couldn't drive squad cars or even step foot in headquarters — inspired Thomas Mullen's new novel.
