Tyina Steptoe

My work explores histories of race, gender, and culture in the United States. My first book, Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City, received the Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book of 2016 (North American) from the Urban History Association, the 2017 W. Turrentine Jackson Book Prize from the Western History Association, and the 2017 Julia Ideson Award from the Friends of the Texas Room at the Houston History Research Center.

My latest project, Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle, Part One: 1876-1919, was published in 2024. This collection of primary sources includes speeches, pamphlets, journalism, legal opinions, congressional testimony, and poems from Reconstruction through Red Summer. Part Two will be available in 2025.

I am committed to academic work that reach beyond the walls of the university. I regularly contribute to news stories, podcasts, and television programs. Most recently, I worked as historical adviser on the PBS documentary, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and the news special, “Juneteenth 1865-2024: A Legacy of Song.” My writing has been published in popular outlets like TIME, Denver Post, Houston Chronicle, Oxford American, and the Conversation. I have also written public-facing articles on Beyoncé, Marvin Gaye, Prince, and Little Richard that connect their music to histories of race and/or gender.

In Tucson I host a weekly radio program called “Soul Stories” on community radio station KXCI. “Soul Stories” explores the history of rhythm and blues music. The show airs on Saturdays at 2:00 pm MST on 91.3-FM and streams on kxci.org. (Click here to stream the most recent episodes.)