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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Cynthia Hawkins leads a family business that endured the 1965 Watts riots, and the Rodney King riots in 1992. She praises the embattled neighborhood, and says strong community ties brought success. -
The Hawkins family has been feeding Watts since 1939. Cynthia Hawkins is the third generation to continue the tradition, and in an LA neighborhood that is often referred to as a food desert.
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Twenty-five years after Charles Johnson's Middle Passage — which dwells with race, class and gender in 19th-century America — won the National Book Award, he reflects on his book's evolving meaning.
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Bill Cosby was instrumental in opening the door for black stuntmen in Hollywood early in his career. He was to be a central figure in a new documentary about black stuntmen, but that has now changed. He will be mentioned, but his interviews have been pulled, following the latest revelations about the comedian, who admitted in court documents that he drugged women for sex.
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For 20 years, Conrad Cooper has been helping children in Los Angeles learn to swim by earning his young students' unwavering trust. -
Tejano star Selena continues to be an influence nearly 20 years after her death. The glamour she brought to the stage will be part of a limited-edition collection by MAC Cosmetics after fans lobbied to make it happen. The Selena makeup line will be launched next year.
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The prolific author tackled difficult issues of race in novels and poetry. He used his writing to challenge assumptions about African-Americans, including civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. -
As white Americans wonder how they can best help people of color engaged in social justice movements now, here are some suggestions.
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The murders of parishioners at an AME church in Charleston are the most recent example of violence visited upon an African-American church — but it's not the only instance.
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A dedicated group of fathers in Los Angeles is working to help neighborhood dads do better by their children and their community.
