Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City PDF
Preview Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City
Houston Bound culture and color in a jim crow city Tyina L. Steptoe university of california press Houston Bound american crossroads Edited by Earl Lewis, George Lipsitz, George Sánchez, Dana Takagi, Laura Briggs, and Nikhil Pal Singh Houston Bound culture and color in a jim crow city Tyina L. Steptoe university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2016 by Th e Regents of the University of California Published in association with the William B. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Steptoe, Tyina L., 1975- author. Houston bound : culture and color in a Jim Crow city / Tyina L. Steptoe. pages cm.— (American crossroads ; 41) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-28257-5 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-28258-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-520-95853-1 (ebook) 1. Minorities—Texas—Houston—Social conditions—20th century. 2. Houston (Tex.)—Emigration and immigration—History—20th century. 3. Houston (Tex.)—Ethnic relations—History—20th century. 4. Music—Social aspects—Texas—Houston—History—20th century. 5. Houston (Tex.)—History—20th century. I. Title. II. Series: American crossroads ; 41. f394.h89a27 2016 305.8009764′2350904—dc23 2015019103 Manufactured in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fi ber that contains 30 percent postconsumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). For Jerome contents List of Illustrations ix Introduction: When Worlds Collide 1 part one 1 Th e Bayou City in Black and White 21 • 2 Old Wards, New Neighbors 60 • part two 3 Jim Crow-ing Culture 93 • 4 “We Were Too White to Be Black and • Too Black to Be White” 120 part three 5 “All America Dances to It” 155 • 6 “Blaxicans” and Black Creoles 184 • Conclusion: Race in the Modern City 223 Acknowledgments 235 Notes 239 Bibliography 277 Index 295 illustrations figures 1. Clift on F. Richardson in 1923 39 2. Black business district on West Dallas Street in the San Felipe district (Fourth Ward) 54 3. Agnes (Sonnier) and Victorien Prejean with their fi rst child, Julius, in 1903 61 4. Felix and Janie (Gonzales) Tijerina 62 5. Southern Pacifi c Railroad workers, 1931 67 6. El Club Femenino Chapultepec at Sam Houston Park 128 7. Ms. Sadberry’s music class at Douglass Elementary, a segregated school for “colored” children 158 8. Illinois Jacquet, ca. 1947 159 9. Th e Eldorado Ballroom in Th ird Ward 167 10. Milton Larkin and His Orchestra, ca. 1937 169 11. Andrew Steptoe, Sr., with Duke-Peacock artist Willie Mae “Big Mama” Th ornton 194 12. Mary Rose (Berry) Strawder in Monterrey, Mexico, 2004 232 maps 1. Houston’s wards 9 2. Houston and the western South 25 3. North side and east side of Houston 80 ix
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