Karen Grigsby Bates

Moynihan Black Poverty Report Revisited Fifty Years Later

Karen Grigsby Bates — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:09:00 +0000

On Wednesday, the Urban Institute released a new report that revisits a famous study conducted almost 50 years ago by the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The original study, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," was written by Moynihan when he was an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Barrier-Breaking Surfer's Legacy A Reminder Of Work To Do

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:36:00 +0000

The Saturday morning fog was burning off above the part of Santa Monica's beach known as the Inkwell. It's the stretch of sand to which black Southern Californians were relegated by de facto segregation until the 1960s.

Men, women and children walked across the sand in wet suits, carrying surfboards.

History Makes Hiring Household Help A Complex Choice

Karen Grigsby Bates — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bHh8VAb_BQ

Dumbfoundead: A Rising Star In A Genre In Transition

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZFRlV9G9eg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmk4a76CXTw

'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:26:00 +0000

It's a visual no parent wants to picture: a child describing what it's like to live in a house with no power for lights, heat or cooking. For many middle-class American parents, it's hard to imagine their family ever facing a situation like that.

Gangsta Rap Swap Meet Proprieter Wan Joon Kim Has Died

Karen Grigsby Bates — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:53:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrQtOoQRpc

1963 Emancipation Proclamation Party Lacked A Key Guest

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:52:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, the White House was the site of an unusual party.

It was a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation's centennial, held on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and many of the guests were descendants of the people Lincoln's historic document freed.

But noticeably absent was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Bloomingdale's Lays Out Welcome Mat To Chinese Shoppers

Karen Grigsby Bates — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:36:00 +0000

A number of luxury retailers are rolling out tactics this year to mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year. For Bloomingdale's in New York City, though, reaching out to Asian shoppers during the cultural celebration is a decades-long tradition.

The upscale department store's marketing strategy traces back to 1971, the year President Nixon lifted the U.S. trade embargo with the People's Republic of China.

Aretha Franklin Was Already Famous, But Her Hat-Maker Wasn't

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:22:00 +0000

After the first Obama inauguration, everybody talked about three things: the historic moment, the Arctic weather — and Aretha Franklin's hat.

If it is possible for a piece of millinery to steal the thunder of one of the most-watched moments in recent memory, the Queen of Soul's hat managed to do it. Her gray felt cloche was topped with a giant, matching bow, outlined in rhinestones that flashed in the chill sunlight as she sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

She took the crowd to church in more ways than one.

'Living' In Color, Long Before 'Girls'

Karen Grigsby Bates — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:19:00 +0000

The second season of HBO's critically acclaimed series Girls begins Sunday night, but the show about 20-something girls navigating their social and work lives in New York has itself been criticized for not being diverse enough.

By now, most of you have heard the buzz about Girls: It's written by 26-year-old Lena Dunham, and stars a quartet of young women whose plans sometimes crash face-first into life's nasty realities.

The show's smart dialogue attracted writer Allison Samuels, a cultural critic for Newsweek/The Daily Beast.

"I love the writing," she says.