Richard Yarborough
Richard A. Yarborough (born 1951) is Professor of English and African-American literature and a Faculty Research Associate with the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also an editor of "The Heath Anthology of American Literature". Background. Yarborough received his B.A. in English from Michigan State University in 1973 and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1980. He joined the English department at UCLA in 1979, his teaching and research focusing on issues relating to African-American literature, including pre-World War I African-American literature and  the representation of slavery and race in American culture. At the time, he taught the only course offered in that field by UCLA, but in 2014 it was noted by King-Kok Cheung, a professor of English and Asian American studies: "Our English department is now considered one of the strongest — if not the strongest — in African American literature, with the richest selection of courses in the country." "The Heath Anthology of American Literature", with Yarborough as Associate General Editor, was launched in 1990, and he was also a founder of "The Library of Black Literature" series in which books  by African-American authors are reprinted. He also worked with Henry Louis Gates, Jr on "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature". Yarborough has been a consultant on a number of films, including "The Josephine Baker Story" (1991) and "The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne" (2013). In 2012, the Richard A. Yarborough Mentoring Award was set up by the American Studies Association's Minority Scholars’ Committee to "honor a scholar who, like Richard Yarborough, demonstrates dedication to and excellence in mentoring." In 2016 he was awarded the Darwin T. Turner Distinguished Scholar Award from the African American Literature and  Culture Society. Selected publications. Books. Heath: Norton: Reprint Series Essays. Introductions Articles