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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We've heard about Rosa Parks and her crucial role in the Montgomery bus boycott. But Parks was just one of many women who organized for years. In this episode, those women tell their own story. -
Four NPR staffers recommend new novels in an early taste of our annual Books We Love round-up: "How High We Go in the Dark," "Vladimir," "Mecca" and "The Candy House."
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NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates from the podcast Code Switch talks with journalist Linda Villarosa about how COVID exposed racial disparities in all aspects of the health care system.
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Constance Baker Motley's life—as a lawyer, as a politician and the first Black woman appointed to the Federal bench – is outlined in a new biography by author Tomiko Brown-Nagin: Civil Rights Queen. -
Talley, who worked at Women's Wear Daily and Vogue, was a regular in the front row of fashion shows in New York and Europe. At 6-feet-6 inches tall, he cut an imposing figure wherever he went.
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Tributes have cascaded in since Sidney Poitier died. And so they should have. He was an unparalleled actor, a committed activist, and a beloved family member. He was also, frankly, a heartthrob. -
Designer Virgil Abloh died Sunday at age 41 after fighting a rare form of cancer. The founder of the label Off-White and the artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear was known as a visionary.
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Stories about Black history often focus on struggle and suffering—but Beverly Jenkins, the author of more than 40 historical romance novels, has spent her career telling stories about Black love. -
Before 2020, the Karen was known by other names. NPR's Code Switch looks at the evolution of the entitled white woman, how her name has changed, but her behavior – and its consequences – not so much.
