NPR logo NPR
Code Switch

Code SwitchCode Switch

 Frontiers of Race, Culture and Ethnicity
Sisters Francine and Fernanda Gravina have German, Italian, African and indigenous ancestry.

Sisters Francine and Fernanda Gravina have German, Italian, African and indigenous ancestry. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Lourdes Garcia-Navarro/NPR

Dark-Skinned Or Black? How Afro-Brazilians Are Forging A Collective Identity

In Brazil, people have tended to describe themselves by skin color rather than race. But that's all changing, as the country's black pride movement gains traction.

Listen Loading… 5:38
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/431244962/431959442" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Paige Watkins (from left), Sarah Johnson, Camille Johnson, Chris Turner and Devon Porter stand in front of Detroit's Eastern Market. They are all contributors to Black Bottom LLC, a project committed to recapturing the vibrancy of the Black Bottom community.

Paige Watkins (from left), Sarah Johnson, Camille Johnson, Chris Turner and Devon Porter stand in front of Detroit's Eastern Market. They are all contributors to Black Bottom LLC, a project committed to recapturing the vibrancy of the Black Bottom community. Courtesy of Justin Milhouse hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Justin Milhouse

Who Fixes Detroit? Young Black Detroiters Want To Resurrect A Lost Neighborhood

by Kinsey Clarke

Black Bottom was once a vibrant black oasis in Detroit, till it was demolished for a freeway. Now, young black visionaries in Detroit are experimenting with a new Black Bottom for the 21st century.

A YWCA summer camp for girls called Camp Nizhoni took place at Lincoln Hills from 1924-1945.

A YWCA summer camp for girls called Camp Nizhoni took place at Lincoln Hills from 1924-1945. Denver Public Library, Western History Collection hide caption

itoggle caption Denver Public Library, Western History Collection

During Segregation, A Mountain Oasis Gave Black Families A Summer Escape

by , Laura Krantz

Lincoln Hills was the only mountain resort west of the Mississippi where African-Americans could buy land or rent cabins. It was founded in the mid-1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan ruled Colorado.

Support NPR

Support NPR

NPR Shop

Support The Programs You Love

© NPR

Hamilton, which opened Thursday on Broadway, is a play based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

Hamilton, which opened Thursday on Broadway, is a play based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown hide caption

itoggle caption Joan Marcus/Shane Marshall Brown

A Hip-Hop Soundtrack For A Musical About Alexander Hamilton? Sure, Why Not?

The new musical about the U.S.'s Founding Fathers — set to a mostly hip-hop score — that everyone's been talking about for months and months finally opens officially on Broadway Thursday night.

Listen Loading… 6:57
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/429717792/430462720" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Protesters arrive at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on the first day of the trial of former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Randall Kerrick in Charlotte. Kerrick is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell.

Protesters arrive at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on the first day of the trial of former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Randall Kerrick in Charlotte. Kerrick is charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell. Chuck Burton/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Chuck Burton/AP

Charlotte's Trial: How Jonathan Ferrell's Death Put A City's Self-Image At Risk

by Mary C. Curtis

As a police officer is tried for manslaughter in the death of an unarmed black man, is Charlotte's reputation for progress on race on trial, too?

Demonstrators protested the death of Michael Brown on last summer in Ferguson, Mo., even as police sprayed pepper spray, shot smoke, gas and flash grenades.

Demonstrators protested the death of Michael Brown on last summer in Ferguson, Mo., even as police sprayed pepper spray, shot smoke, gas and flash grenades. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Black Lives Matter: Coming To A Museum Near You?

by NPR Staff

How do you curate a museum exhibit about the protests in Ferguson, Mo.? NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the director National Museum of African American History and Culture, which will open next fall.

Listen Loading… 3:49
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/428085104/428355188" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Johanna Fernández, co-curator of a new exhibition about the Young Lords, points to pages of the group's newspaper on display at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Johanna Fernández, co-curator of a new exhibition about the Young Lords, points to pages of the group's newspaper on display at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Hansi Lo Wang/NPR

Once Outlaws, Young Lords Find A Museum Home For Radical Roots

Inspired by the Black Panthers, the Young Lords were formed in New York City by a group of Puerto Rican youth in 1969. Their history is now on display in a new exhibition.

Listen Loading… 4:07
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/427429960/427464740" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Comedian Wyatt Cenac performs onstage at the Vulture Festival Presents: Comedy Night at The Bell House on May 31 in Brooklyn, New York.

Comedian Wyatt Cenac performs onstage at the Vulture Festival Presents: Comedy Night at The Bell House on May 31 in Brooklyn, New York. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

On Wyatt Cenac, 'Key & Peele,' And Being The Only One In The Room

Wyatt Cenac's much-publicized confrontation with Jon Stewart says a lot about the pitfalls of being The Only One In The Room. But turns out there's some interesting social science behind it, too.

The Eastside Bicycle Club on a 35 mile Saturday evening ride with stops for tacos.

The Eastside Bicycle Club on a 35 mile Saturday evening ride with stops for tacos. Carlos Morales hide caption

itoggle caption Carlos Morales

On A 'Tour De Tacos' With Los Angeles' Eastside Bike Club

A cycling group comprised of mostly Latino, bilingual, bicultural bikers is growing in Los Angeles — and changing people's minds about what recreational bikers look like.

Listen Loading… 5:23
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/425659877/426434702" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
Chuck Reece, founder and editor-in-chief of The Bitter Southerner, is leading the discussion on what it means to be Southern in a time when the country is fixed on events in the South.

Chuck Reece, founder and editor-in-chief of The Bitter Southerner, is leading the discussion on what it means to be Southern in a time when the country is fixed on events in the South. Courtesy of Chuck Reece hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Chuck Reece

Q&A With Chuck Reece: A Bitter Southerner Reimagines the Region

by Errin Whack

A conversation with the editor-in-chief of The Bitter Southerner, a new-ish publication about Southern identity that couldn't have come about at a better time.

A typical midhike feast once hikers reach their destination.

A typical midhike feast once hikers reach their destination. HaeRyun Kang/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption HaeRyun Kang/NPR

Keeping Alive The Korean Love For Hiking, Thousands Of Miles From Korea

The hard-core love for hiking mountains is now a tradition that's being kept alive by the Korean-American community in Los Angeles.

Listen Loading… 6:49
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/419039217/424342028" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
(From left to right) Student members of the NAACP Ekow Nana-Kweson, Trinity Towns and Anscia Brown.

(From left to right) Student members of the NAACP Ekow Nana-Kweson, Trinity Towns and Anscia Brown. Walter Ray Watson/Walter ray Watson hide caption

itoggle caption Walter Ray Watson/Walter ray Watson

In The Age Of #BlackLivesMatter, The NAACP Tries To Reach A Younger Generation

The NAACP is holding its annual convention at a time when there are growing questions about the group's relevance to a young generation.

Listen Loading… 4:22
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/423188063/423263388" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">
On the recommendation of Kenichi Zenimura, manager Lonnie Goodwin (far right) took his ballclub on a tour of Asia in April 1927. Here, he's pictured with (from left) catcher O'Neal Pullen, pitcher Ajay Johnson and shortstop Biz Mackey.

On the recommendation of Kenichi Zenimura, manager Lonnie Goodwin (far right) took his ballclub on a tour of Asia in April 1927. Here, he's pictured with (from left) catcher O'Neal Pullen, pitcher Ajay Johnson and shortstop Biz Mackey. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum/Courtesy of Bill Staples, Jr. hide caption

itoggle caption Negro Leagues Baseball Museum/Courtesy of Bill Staples, Jr.

The Secret History Of Black Baseball Players In Japan

by Dexter Thomas

Decades before Jackie Robinson broke American baseball's color line, a long-standing camaraderie between black and Japanese players would shape the future of baseball in Japan.