Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City (American Crossroads Book 41)

by Tyina Steptoe

Beginning after World War I, Houston was transformed from a black-and-white frontier town into one of the most ethnically and racially diverse urban areas in the United States. Houston Bound draws on social and cultural history to show how, despite Anglo attempts to fix racial categories through Jim Crow laws, converging migrations—particularly those of Mexicans and Creoles—complicated ideas of blackness and whiteness and introduced different understandings about race. This migration history also uses music and sound to examine these racial complexities, tracing the emergence of Houston's blues and jazz scenes in the 1920s as well as the hybrid forms of these genres that arose when migrants forged shared social space and carved out new communities and politics. This interdisciplinary book provides both an innovative historiography about migration and immigration in the twentieth century and a critical examination of a city located in the former Confederacy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

609 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2015

Reviews

[Eboni Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a life-long Houstonian, born and raised, “Houston Bound” re-introduced me to my beloved city.

Tyina’s writing draws you in page by page and she expertly weaves personal family history, first-hand accounts, and historical facts to illustrate the complexities of Jim Crow Houston.

This one has a permanent place on my bookshelf. I can’t recommend this book enough for Houstonians of all races, but especially those of Black, Creole, or Mexican descent.

[McKenzie Watson-Fore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me forever to get through (had to renew from the library several times), but every time I picked it up I didn’t want to put it back down. Me. Steptoe’s writing pulls one in, and i so enjoyed allowing her academic and thoroughly-researched prowess shape and reshape my own perception of racial subjectivities within my chosen city. And all of that, with a heavy dose of ethnomusicology!!

Not for everyone, but for those interested in local histories of segregation or musical development, it’s a phenomenal journey.

[Nelva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived in Houston for the past 43 years and being a veteran educator, I thought I knew Houston. However this book taught me that I only knew highlights of Houston history. I highly recommend this book for everyone especially people who live in Texas. This book is a deep dive into Black and Brown communities and helps one understand why Houston is Houston. The book is very well written and for a nonfiction book very readable. My familiarity with the places in the book added to my enjoyment of reading about my adopted hometown.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a History class at UHD: Houston, Past and Present. The professor assigned 3 chapters which were available free online, but I enjoyed the material so much that I purchased my own copy of the book. I haven't read it cover to cover yet, but I intend to. Very insightful writing on the racial experiences in the Jim Crow era in Houston.

[Abriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was still marked as currently reading lol whoops This is an academic book, so obviously it's a tougher, denser read but it came in handy for a paper I wrote about the history of segregation in Houston wards and taught me so much more than I expected.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Textbook

[Ivy Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book I had to read for school that I actually really enjoyed. It explores the Jim Crow area in the City of Houston and how it was experienced by freed slaves, French Creoles and Mexican immigrants. Navigating a racial binary when you don't fit neatly into the binary was really a really interesting perspective.

[Ingrid Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for work. I'm a native Houstonian and I never knew the history of this area of town (Fifth Ward). The author is coming to Gregory School in the spring to discuss the book.

[Phil Overeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at a city whose color and culture is more complex than most folks realize. Also, Ms. Steptoe successfully walks the line between academic dryness and readable storytelling.