Fay Yarbrough

SURF Mentoring

Potential projects/topics: The Red Book of Houston is a snapshot of Black life in Houston circa 1915: https://news.rice.edu/news/2021/new-look-red-book-1915-artifact-black-life-houston The book contains rich data about Black schools, churches, and businesses in the city, as well as photographs and biographical sketches of Black residents. Rice University's digital project maps the locations in the Red Book to reveal patterns in where Black people lived and worked in the city and when combined with other data can show change over time about the Black presence in Houston. You may access the project here: https://digitalprojects.rice.edu/red-book-of-houston/

Potential skills gained: ARCGIS skills, Omeka story mapping, historical research skills, synthesizing data and writing a coherent narrative

Required qualifications: We can provide training in ARCGIS and Omeka. Students should be curious about the history of the Houston and interested in doing historical research

Direct mentor: Faculty/P.I., Fay Yarbrough (history) and Norie Guthrie (Fondren Library)

Research Areas

Professor Yarbrough’s research interests focus on the native populations of the southeastern United States and Indian Territory during the nineteenth century. She is particularly interested in the interactions between indigenous peoples and people of African descent.