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 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.
[3] 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.
[4] He also worked with Henry Louis Gates, Jr on The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.
[5] Yarborough has been a consultant on a number of films,[3] including The Josephine Baker Story (1991)[6] and The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne (2013).