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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Kevin Young's new book of poetry, Brown, is colored by memories from his family and childhood, U.S. history and black culture. -
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. -
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? -
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. -
In Charcoal Joe, Mosley brings his iconic private eye Easy Rawlins into the haze of the late '60s, extending a literary odyssey through the transformation of black Los Angeles. -
In her new novel, I Almost Forgot About You, McMillan's heroine confronts midlife malaise by reconnecting with men from her past. -
A new book, Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, explores how faith brought two African-American icons together and eventually tore their relationship apart.
