Robinson returned to Memphis after receiving her degree to work briefly as an adjunct at
University of Memphis. She then worked for three years as a
tenure-track professor at
University of Mississippi. Robinson then returned to University of Memphis, where she remained for six years. In 2015, she accepted a position at
Rhodes College. She joined the faculty at
Georgetown University as an associate professor in the department of African-American studies in 2019. 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. The book uses interviews with African Americans who live in Memphis and "critiques ideas of black identity constructed through a northern lens and situates African Americans as central shapers of contemporary
southern culture." She received the
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Award for the book. Her second book, co-authored with Marcus Anthony Hunter, is called
Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life. Published in 2018 by
University of California Press, the authors "present an alternative cartography of the United States, a "Black map" — showing how Black people and culture have shaped what we know as American culture".
Twitter statements and mistaken firing In 2015, Robinson received backlash over her
tweets related to white students' perceptions that Black college students are admitted due to their race, and statements related to criticism of the
Confederate flag.{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/01/twitter-explodes-false-reports-u-memphis-fired-professor-why|title=The Professor Who Wasn't Fired == Personal life ==