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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Here's the books and articles about the 1921 Tulsa massacre that we recommend for a deeper dive into the events from the day. -
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III talks about how he turned entry into the Blacksonian into the hottest ticket in town and how the coronavirus is affecting the Smithsonians. -
Vernon Jordan, for years an influential power broker in Washington and a close advisor to former President Bill Clinton, has died at 85.
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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.
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"Cesar Chavez understood that (Bobby) was one of the only white politicians — maybe the only one — who truly and instantaneously got what was going on with the farm workers." Biographer Larry Tye
