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.
-
The 1992 Los Angeles riots left more than 50 people dead and destroyed an estimated $1 billion in property all over the city. NPR explores how people in LA think of the riots 25 years later and why the event is still relevant.
-
A racial discrimination suit is filed against Fox. Is an Alabama school district getting around integration? Shea Moisture apologizes for a commercial. And, there's a new philanthropist in town. -
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. -
-
California's Senate votes to limit the cooperation police can give immigration authorities, while research shows fear of deportation can make people sick. And Pepsi's unity message backfires. -
Busy week per always: resistance to deportations, black women get spicy with the White House press secretary, and Muslim Latinas. Yeah, really. -
While much of the focus has been on deportations of Latinx, other groups have been under increased scrutiny. -
"When a show is well-written, when it has good actors, people want to watch," says Courtney Jones of Nielsen. -
It's a tricky thing, casting. Directors have a vision for their lines — but what if that vision doesn't include a more inclusive palette?
