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NPR Deepens Coverage of Race, Ethnicity and Culture

by Emerson Brown

NPR has always been committed to authentic coverage of the remarkably different people and issues that make up our world. Now, you can expect to hear much more from us.

Today at the UNITY Convention in Las Vegas, NPR announced that we will receive a $1.5 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to expand our coverage of race, ethnicity and culture.

These resources will allow NPR to form a new team of six journalists to identify and report news and perspectives, and present new voices and conversations, that capture the issues that define an increasingly diverse America.

This team will work across NPR to surface compelling stories and conversations for all of our platforms. A digital space at NPR.org will launch this fall, with much more to follow.

In the meantime, take a moment to view this slideshow we put together for today's announcement. It highlights a selection of NPR stories on this subject and shows how we hope to offer a fresh lens through which to view America.

Highlights from NPR Coverage of Race, Ethnicity and Culture

  • NPR Coverage of Race, Ethnicity and Culture
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    NPR Coverage of Race, Ethnicity and Culture

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    NPR
  • The York Project
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    The York Project
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    NPR
  • The fifteen participants of The York Project represented the demographics of the local community.
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    The fifteen participants of The York Project represented the demographics of the local community.
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    NPR
  • Lost Children, Shattered Families
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    Lost Children, Shattered Families
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    NPR
  • Suzanne Crow fought the state of South Dakota for three years to get custody of her two grandchildren, even becoming a licensed foster care provider in the meantime. Despite her efforts, it took three years for her grandchildren to be returned to their family in Minnesota.
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    Suzanne Crow fought the state of South Dakota for three years to get custody of her two grandchildren, even becoming a licensed foster care provider in the meantime. Despite her efforts, it took three years for her grandchildren to be returned to their family in Minnesota.
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    John Poole/NPR
  • Daylyn, 3, Rashauna, 6, and Antoinette, 8, play on a swing set in their great grandparents' back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation. The children were taken from their mother, by South Dakota's Department of Social Services they spent a year and a half in foster care, despite the fact that she was never arrested or charged with any thing.
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    Daylyn, 3, Rashauna, 6, and Antoinette, 8, play on a swing set in their great grandparents' back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation. The children were taken from their mother, by South Dakota's Department of Social Services they spent a year and a half in foster care, despite the fact that she was never arrested or charged with any thing.
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    John Poole/NPR
  • Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents' back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota's Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.
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    Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents' back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota's Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.
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    John Poole/NPR
  • 2 Languages, Many Voices
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    2 Languages, Many Voices
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    NPR
  • At Coral Way Elementary School in Miami-Dade County, students take classes in Spanish in the morning, then switch to English in the afternoon.
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    At Coral Way Elementary School in Miami-Dade County, students take classes in Spanish in the morning, then switch to English in the afternoon.
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    Claudio Sanchez/NPR
  • The Rev. Wilfredo de Jesus delivers a sermon at the New Life Covenant Church in Chicago. The church has grown from a congregation of dozens to thousands of families in just a few years.
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    The Rev. Wilfredo de Jesus delivers a sermon at the New Life Covenant Church in Chicago. The church has grown from a congregation of dozens to thousands of families in just a few years.
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    Miriam Acosta
  • Natalie Ochoa (left) and her mother, Betty Ochoa, say that services at the New Life Covenant church are less formal than those of the Catholic church they once attended.
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    Natalie Ochoa (left) and her mother, Betty Ochoa, say that services at the New Life Covenant church are less formal than those of the Catholic church they once attended.
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    Barbara Bradley Hagerty/NPR
  • Family Matters
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    Family Matters
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    NPR
  • Ida Christian, who suffers from dementia, gets help from her granddaughter, Yolanda Hunter (left), in blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. Yolanda quit her lucrative job to become Ida's full-time caregiver.
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    Ida Christian, who suffers from dementia, gets help from her granddaughter, Yolanda Hunter (left), in blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. Yolanda quit her lucrative job to become Ida's full-time caregiver.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Ida, who has dementia, needs around-the-clock care. Geneva's daughter, Yolanda Hunter, quit her lucrative job to become Ida's full-time caregiver. "My daughter is a fantastic individual," Geneva says of Yolanda. "She said to me we are in this together ... and I don't know what I would have done without her."
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    Ida, who has dementia, needs around-the-clock care. Geneva's daughter, Yolanda Hunter, quit her lucrative job to become Ida's full-time caregiver. "My daughter is a fantastic individual," Geneva says of Yolanda. "She said to me we are in this together ... and I don't know what I would have done without her."
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Geneva Hunter (left), who runs the secretarial operations for a Washington, D.C., law firm, decided to take a hands-on approach to her mother's care and moved Ida Christian, 89, into her home in Odenton, Md.
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    Geneva Hunter (left), who runs the secretarial operations for a Washington, D.C., law firm, decided to take a hands-on approach to her mother's care and moved Ida Christian, 89, into her home in Odenton, Md.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Natasha Shamone-Gilmore smiles at her father Franklin Brunson, 81, during a Sunday church service in Capitol Heights, Md. She has taken on the daily challenge of caring for her father, who is suffering from mild dementia.
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    Natasha Shamone-Gilmore smiles at her father Franklin Brunson, 81, during a Sunday church service in Capitol Heights, Md. She has taken on the daily challenge of caring for her father, who is suffering from mild dementia.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Poverty in America
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    Poverty in America
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    NPR
  • Tracy Boggs, 49, walks her daughter Emily, 7, to the Second Street Learning Center in Reading, Pa., which has been labeled America's poorest city with a poverty rate of 41.3%.
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    Tracy Boggs, 49, walks her daughter Emily, 7, to the Second Street Learning Center in Reading, Pa., which has been labeled America's poorest city with a poverty rate of 41.3%.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Jennifer Stepp, 29, lives in Reading, Pa., and is raising three children by herself. Like 14 million other single mothers in America, she lives below the poverty line.
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    Jennifer Stepp, 29, lives in Reading, Pa., and is raising three children by herself. Like 14 million other single mothers in America, she lives below the poverty line.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • Shyanne (left) holds 1-year-old Makai, as Stepp checks to see if all of Shyanne's homework has been completed.
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    Shyanne (left) holds 1-year-old Makai, as Stepp checks to see if all of Shyanne's homework has been completed.
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    Kainaz Amaria/NPR
  • A worker dismantles a mattress at a recycling facility in Oakland, Calif. The material will be used to make carpet products and proceeds will help support the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, a nonprofit that helps low-income families in Eugene, Ore.
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    A worker dismantles a mattress at a recycling facility in Oakland, Calif. The material will be used to make carpet products and proceeds will help support the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, a nonprofit that helps low-income families in Eugene, Ore.
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    Pam Fessler/NPR
  • Support group members Pamela Travis (from left), Dominique Martin, Yovanda Dixon, Shanna Chaney and Ramona Shewl hold a meeting as part of the Family Independence Initiative. The Oakland nonprofit encourages low-income families to form small groups to help each other get ahead.
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    Support group members Pamela Travis (from left), Dominique Martin, Yovanda Dixon, Shanna Chaney and Ramona Shewl hold a meeting as part of the Family Independence Initiative. The Oakland nonprofit encourages low-income families to form small groups to help each other get ahead.
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    Pam Fessler/NPR
  • Rising Up From Prostitution
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    Rising Up From Prostitution
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    NPR
  • People gather in a support circle at Thistle Farms.
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    People gather in a support circle at Thistle Farms.
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    Stephen Alvarez /NPR
  • Tara Adcock (pictured) and Sheila Simpkins drive through Nashville, revisiting the streets they used to walk.
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    Tara Adcock (pictured) and Sheila Simpkins drive through Nashville, revisiting the streets they used to walk.
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    Stephen Alvarez /NPR
  • Sheila Simpkins has been clean for almost seven years. She has two children and works at Magdalene.
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    Sheila Simpkins has been clean for almost seven years. She has two children and works at Magdalene.
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    Stephen Alvarez /NPR
  • Women at Thistle Farms make body care products by hand and paper from thistles.
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    Women at Thistle Farms make body care products by hand and paper from thistles.
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    Stephen Alvarez /NPR
  • Southword
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    Southword
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    NPR
  • The Highwaymen are a group of African-American artists based in Fort Pierce, FL, who began painting in the 1960s.
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    The Highwaymen are a group of African-American artists based in Fort Pierce, FL, who began painting in the 1960s.
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    Gary Monroe
  • Dr. David Gilder gives Sally Johnson a checkup at the Mallory Community Health Center in Tchula, Miss.
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    Dr. David Gilder gives Sally Johnson a checkup at the Mallory Community Health Center in Tchula, Miss.
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    Dave Anderson/Oxford American
  • Alt.Latino
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    Alt.Latino
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    NPR
  • Alt.Latino hosts Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd in front of the Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Bogota.
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    Alt.Latino hosts Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd in front of the Lourdes Cathedral in downtown Bogota.
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    Jacob Edger/NPR
  • Los Lobos perform a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices.
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    Los Lobos perform a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices.
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    Mito Habe-Evans/NPR
  • Chilean MC Ana Tijoux opened for Calle 13 during the 2012 Latin Alternative Music Conference showcase at Celebrate Brooklyn.
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    Chilean MC Ana Tijoux opened for Calle 13 during the 2012 Latin Alternative Music Conference showcase at Celebrate Brooklyn.
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    Ryan Muir /NPR
  • Rana Santacruz and band mates during their Tiny Desk Concert September 17, 2010.
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    Rana Santacruz and band mates during their Tiny Desk Concert September 17, 2010.
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    Abby Verbosky/NPR

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