Karen Grigsby Bates

Actor James Gandolfini Dies Suddenly While On Vacation

Karen Grigsby Bates — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

The 51-year-old actor died on Wednesday in Rome. Reports attribute his death to a heart attack. Gandolfini had been a character actor for years before he was given a chance to read for Tony Soprano in a new series about a New Jersey mob boss HBO was producing in the late 90s.

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.

The Reaction To Michelle Obama's Reaction To A Heckler

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 20:33:00 +0000

First lady Michelle Obama's confrontation with a heckler at a Democratic Party fundraiser Tuesday night has sparked a dramatic range of reaction.

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.

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.

New Policy For Young Immigrants Creates Paperwork Deluge

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:32:00 +0000

In the six months since a new law opened a path to temporary legal status for some young immigrants in the U.S., more than 300,000 people have applied — and have rushed to request qualifying documents from their schools.

The law, Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, offers legal status, renewable every two years, to people ages 30 and younger who were brought to the country as children. Applicants must prove they were in the U.S.

Controversial Casting For A Nina Simone Biopic

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:26:00 +0000

The rumors that had been around for a couple of years have finally been confirmed: At long last, there's a film in the works about the turbulent life of Nina Simone, otherwise known as the "High Priestess of Soul."

Simone was famous from the 1950s through the '70s for her music and her civil rights activism. And although she died in 2003, her voice remains popular on TV, movie soundtracks and commercials.

Originally, hip-hop diva Mary J. Blige was slated to star in the film, called Nina, but she dropped out last year after shooting was delayed.