She is the author of two books: This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South (2014) and Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life (2018).

[3][4] Robinson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in the city's East Whitehaven Park neighborhood.

[7] Robinson's first book, titled This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South, was published in 2014 by UNC Press.

[11] Her second book, co-authored with Marcus Anthony Hunter, is called Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life.

[15][16] The story was picked up by conservative media outlets such as The Daily Caller and many people called for her to be fired.