Curriculum vitae · Web edition
Ronald J. Stephens, Ph.D.
Professor of African American Studies, historian, author, and public humanities scholar whose work follows Black leisure, resistance, migration, community formation, and belonging.
Education
Ph.D., African American Studies
Temple University · 1996
M.A., African American Studies / Urban History
Temple University · 1992
M.A., Speech Communication / Library Science
Wayne State University · 1991
B.A., Speech Communication / Public Relations
Wayne State University · 1986
Academic appointments
Professor of African American Studies
Purdue University · 2014–present
Associate Professor of African American Studies
Ohio University · 2008–2014
Professor of African American Studies
Metropolitan State University of Denver · 2005–2008
Associate Professor of African American Studies
Grand Valley State University · 2003–2005
Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies
University of Nebraska–Lincoln · 1997–2003
Visiting Assistant Professor of African American Studies
Wayne State University · 1993–1997
Associate Professor of Humanities
West Shore Community College · 1992–1993
Books
Legacy in Motion: Readings in African American Studies
Kendall Hunt · 2026
Robert Franklin Williams Speaks: A Documentary History
Anthem Press · hardback 2024; paperback 2026
Global Garveyism
Co-edited with Adam Ewing · University Press of Florida · 2018; paperback 2025
Chicken Bone Beach
With Henrietta W. Shelton and the Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation · Arcadia Publishing · 2023
Idlewild: The Rise, Decline, and Rebirth of a Unique African American Resort Town
University of Michigan Press · 2013
African Americans of Denver
With La Wanna M. Larson and the Black American West Museum · Arcadia Publishing · 2008
Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan
Arcadia Publishing · 2001
Current book projects
- Robert and Mabel Williams: Matrimonial Partnership in Black Resistance History
- Navigating Racial Injustice through Strategic Poetic Communication
- Showcasing Black Womanhood
- From Riches to Raids: The Rise and Fall of John White and the Gotham Hotel
Selected scholarship
Voices of Defiance: Historical and Technological Resilience in Black Identity
With Jeremiah Johnson · Journal of African American Studies · published online 2025
View sourceTrailblazers of Justice: Violette Neatley Anderson and Percy J. Langster’s Legal Legacies in Idlewild: The Black Eden and Summer Apollo of Michigan
Michigan Historical Review 51(2), 35–60 · Fall 2025
View sourcePraise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: Robert F. Williams’ Crusade for Justice on Behalf of Twenty-two Million African Americans as a Cuban Exile
Black Diaspora Review 2(1), 15–28 · 2010
Public history & programs
Idlewild at 114
Exhibition in development on Black place-making, culture, leisure, and community in rural Michigan.
Catch the Spirit of Historic Idlewild
A public-history exhibition framework combining photographs, maps, memorabilia, oral histories, music, and contemporary images.
Juneteenth: Marcus Garvey and Garveyism in Indiana
Indiana Landmarks panel · June 19, 2026
We Want More History
American Historical Association contribution in process; publication details will be added when confirmed.