Houston Bound

Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City

Bibliographic Data

ID4157431
AuthorsThomas A Castillo (Coastal Carolina University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume104
Issue2
Pages522-523
Publication date2017-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8723 • E-ISSN: 1945-2314
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jahist/jax246
OpenAlexW2748427325
LanguageEN
Citations received10

Tyina L. Steptoe's Houston Bound attempts to tell the story of racial formation during the Jim Crow era, a periodization that appears to encompass the years between World War I and 1945 but sometimes expands before and after. In fact, the most interesting section of the book, “Multilingual Rhythm and Blues,” covers the post–World War II period. Her passion for the musical traditions circulating through Houston is apparent, particularly in her discussion of the history of the genres of blues, la-la music, jazz, orquesta, and, especially, zydeco. The book's focus is on black Houston—including all hues and cultural migratory backgrounds—though there are extended discussions of ethnic Mexicans and brief mentions of other groups such as Jews and Italians. Anglos are also included as the blanket oppressors (racists such as the Ku Klux Klan member Billie Mayfield are given ample exposure), except when they were white musicians interested in musical exploration. Unfortunately, the book seems imbalanced in its use of primary and secondary sources, in its analysis, and even in its organization. The author mystifies race, inexplicitly finding complexity and profundity in nearly any instance of social history, and terms such as transnational and borderland are only superficially developed

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Art history · Blues · Ethnic group · Jazz · Literature · Musical · Passion · Period (music · Periodization · Sociology · White (mutation · Anthropology · Color perception and design · Gender Studies · History · Psychology · Social Psychology

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