CERCL in partnership with the African American History Research Center - Gregory Campus offers residential fellowships for scholars whose research would benefit from the Houston Public Library special collections (particularly the AAHRC - Gregory Campus archives).
Previous Scholars
Viktor L. Ewing Givens
Creative Researcher, Community Artists' Collective
Viktor le. Givens is a found object installation performance artist whose practice centers around the gathering and arrangement of ancestral objects to activate spaces for site specific public rituals. By connecting the material culture of his ancestors with pre and post modern spiritual theologies, le. Givens hopes to extend and reimagine the folk customs of his family. His material archive is comprised of the forgotten and discarded household items found during excavations of East Texas, Louisiana, Havana Cuba and Mexico City. Through the accumulation of these rich cultural artifacts , le. Givens. seeks to create spaces that inspire the activation of cultural and spiritual memory.
Viktor le.Givens hosted several memory lab gatherings that culminated in two engagements to featuring his research.
- "Spirit of the Archive // Sankofa as Praxis" a hybrid performance ritual and research presentation to explore the spiritual and cultural potentials in working with archives as a site for liberation and identity (re)creation.
- "Folk Fest 2023" a free public, full day, cultural arts convening for community members interested in learning heritage preservation techniques through workshops ranging from ancestral mapping, food preparation, gardening, meditation, vision boarding and folk dance.
Willie Jamaal Wright
Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Florida
Dr. Wright's research interest includes the study of social movements and urban Black geographies. He has published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, City & Society, and The Black Scholar. In 2021, he co-curated Project Row Houses "Round 52: Gulf Coast Anthropecene," a collection of art interrogating the impact of climate change throughout the Gulf Coast South. His forthcoming manuscript, Deciphering Dowling Street: Place and Public Art Post-Project Row Houses, interrogates the growth of Black artists in Third Ward in the aftermath of Project Row Houses.
Dr. Wright gave two lectures as Scholar-in-Residence 2022.
- "Right Beyond the Site': Otabenga Jones & the Social Practice of Belonging"
- "Social Sculpture: A Neighborhood Tradition"
Camesha Scruggs
PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Camesha Scruggs is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A native Texan, she received a BA and MA in history from Texas Southern University. Her research fields are 20th century US, African American, Public History and Gender and Empire.
Camesha Scruggs gave two lectures as a Scholar-in-Residence 2019.
- "Toiling in Texas: African American Female Domestic Servants"
- "Learning to Labor: Domestic Service Education in Texas"
Gina Bienski
PhD Candidate, Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy, Rutgers University
Gina Bienski earned a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Houston and is a licensed architect in Texas. Her research focuses on residential segregation patterns, community redevelopment, and neighborhood change.
Gina Bienski gave two lectures as a Scholar-in-Residence 2017.
- "Phases of Redevelopment in Freedman’s Town"
- "Documenting Change in the Built Environment of Freedman's Town"