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Code Switch

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Remember when folks used to talk about being "post-racial"? Heh. We're definitely not that. We're NPR's team of journalists who are fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how these things play out in our lives and...
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Bass Reeves was a slave who learned how to shoot from his master. He went on to become a black Marshall who caught more than 4,000 criminals. Many historians believe that he was the original inspiration for the Lone Ranger. His true story is now chronicled in a new comic book, Tales of the Talented Tenth. Learn more about Bass Reeves and other uncelebrated black heroes.

Photo: Joel Christian Gill/Courtesy of Fulcrum Publishing

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Salsa, which is technically a dip, has been bringing in bigger revenues for American companies than any other condiment since 1992. The reason why might have to do more with its perception as a healthy snack than the increase of the Hispanic population in the U.S. 

"The business exploded when the hippies came along," says David Pace, the founder of Pace salsas. "No question but this health stuff made it explode."

As Jerry Seinfeld said at an AMA last year: "people probably like it because they can see the tomatoes in it? Whereas with ketchup, you have no idea where this came from."  Source: "Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America."

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Forget taco Tuesday, Norwegians have taco Friday: "According to a VG study in 2012, the taco is by far the most popular dinner on Friday in Norway—even surpassing the infamous frozen Grandiosa pizza! This study determined that 400,000 Norwegians—or 8.2% of the population—eat tacos every single Friday. " Photo by Carolina Miranda/NPR H/T pocho.com

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They came ready to hurt. They used dangerous weapons; they targeted the weak; they recruited and encouraged others to join in the coordinated chaos; and they boasted about their shameful activity. This was a 2011 version of the Nigger hunts.

Carlton Reeves, a black U.S. District Court judge after sentencing three white murderers 

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ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD: So it comes across in such a smooth, subtle way. And it’s satirical and just like — it’s serious but then it’s like — not necessarily pokes fun. You feel the pain. You feel the frustration of the dynamic of being in pursuit of love, you know, and trying to find a feeling. Like, you get it. So I think you really communicate that.

TERRACE MARTIN: Thanks, man. And that’s the line I’m pushing. I talk about things I go through. You know what I mean?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah.

MARTIN: You know, I grew up on Crenshaw and Slauson and I grew up in the crack era and the gangbanging was really heavy in South Central. So I don’t — I never want, like, using my platform to talk about the same story and what’s going — that s—- gives me anxiety, thinking about that era or that time. You know what I mean? Even with times going on now, it’s like, the best thing I could do is really not comment and just keep on feeding the world good music. That’s what I’m here for. Like the Titanic, when them motherf—-ers went down with the ship, trying to make everybody else cool, that’s all I’ma do.

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