For several years, Baylor’s diversity initiatives have primarily been overseen by the Campus Diversity Committee, which has been tasked with enhancing and promoting diversity. However, since the committee was first created, the university’s diversity initiatives are now overseen by departments across campus.

A Baylor Kappa Kappa Gamma member wore a full-face black purge mask to the sorority’s annual new member event, “Kappa Kappa Goth,” in the bowling alley of the Bill Daniel Student Center. Members were encouraged to attend the event in goth-themed attire.

Baylor’s Institute for Oral History emphasizes the importance of storytelling, a method of preservation that accounts for much of global history. However, its Black History Walk focuses on local history, retelling the stories of Black Americans in Waco through an immersive educational experience.

Black History Month has been a part of the American tradition for over 100 years, and this February, Baylor’s own Black Student Union and African Student Association are bringing the celebration to campus.

When Barbara Ann Walker and the Rev. Robert Gilbert walked across the graduation stage on June 2, 1967, Baylor University had gone over 120 years without granting a degree to a Black student. The story of Baylor’s integration is long, challenging and still developing, but more than anything, it is a story centered around the actions not of governments or university administrations but of outspoken support from students themselves.