Ronald J. Stephens - Program in African American Studies, Purdue University

This is Ashley Newby and you’re listening to The Black Studies podcast, a Mellon grant sponsored series of conversations examining the history of the field. Our conversations engage with a wide range of activists and scholars - senior figures in the field, late doctoral students, and everyone in between, culture workers, and political organizers - in order to explore the cultural and political meaning of Black Studies as an area of inquiry and its critical methods.


Today's conversation is with Ronald Stephens, who teaches in the Program in African American Studies at Purdue University (https://www.cla.purdue.edu/directory/...) , where he is hosting centennial conference on the life and work of Robert F. Williams (https://events.purdue.edu/event/celeb...) (22 October 2025). A nationally and internationally recognized expert on the historically significant African American resort in Idlewild, Michigan, he has authored several important works, including Idlewilde: The Rise, Decline, and Rebirth of a Unique African American Resort Town (University of Michigan Press, 2013) and Idlewild: the Black Eden of Michigan (Arcadia, 2001). He is lead co-editor of three volumes: Global Garveyism (University of Florida, 2019), Chicken Bone Beach (Arcadia Publishing, 2023), and African Americans of Denver (Arcadia, 2008), and he is the author of twelve academic journal articles in publications such as the Journal of Black Studies, The Black Scholar, and Black Diaspora Review. He has an article in press with the Michigan Historical Review entitled, “Trailblazers of Justice: Violette Neatley Anderson and Percy J. Langster’s Legal Legacies in Idlewild: the Black Eden and Summer Apollo of Michigan.” Dr. Stephens is currently writing Robert and Mabel Williams: Matrimonial Partnership in Black Resistance History and pursuing a book contract with Wayne State University Press. 






Dr. Stephens has appeared as an expert for numerous media outlets including NPR, the HIstory Channel, and the Smithsonian Channel. Notable features include appearances in the documentaries Negroes with Guns and The Green Book: Road to Freedom, as well as Tony Brown’s Journal, Black Nouveau and HGTV’s Historic African American Towns. His contributions continue to deepen our understanding of African American leisure culture, and resistance history. Recently, he launched The Resilience Journey, a 40-minute bi-weekly podcast based on the experiences of Robert and Mabel Williams as a testament to the power of defiance in the face of oppression and the enduring spirit in the fight for human dignity and equality. The show explores stories of perseverance and empowerment, and where history’s echoes shape our past and future. Each episode dives deep into stories of resistance, resilience, courage, and the relentless pursuit of justice through the lens of those who’ve lived it. 



He plans to continue the Resilience Journey and write two other African American biographies - 1. About producer Larry Steele from his Smart Affairs revue from the mid-1940s to the early 1970s; and 2. About John White and the Gotham Hotel of Detroit  






Dr. Stephens has over a decade of administrative leadership experience, having served as department chair at Metropolitan State University of Denver and Ohio University, as well as program director of African American Studies at various other institutions. He was born and grew up in Detroit. He attended Detroit Public Schools, and graduated from Wayne State University, earning a B.A. and an M.A. in Speech Communication and M.A. and PhD from Temple University in African American Studies. He is the father of two daughters (Kiara and Karielle) and proud grandfather of twelve grandchildren.