“We sit under shade trees we did not plant,” Baylor Regent Dr. Michael McFarland said in reference to the forced labor by which Baylor was built. “We drink from wells we did not dig. And we are warmed by fires that we did not light … Baylor’s story, like the story of our great nation, is both complicated and redemptive.”

“A lot of students want to have their pictures taken [at Founders Mall] because of how pretty it is, and how Baylor-esque it is. And so with not being able to go around there at all, you have to re-plan your entire set of locations and rethink how you can still have a Baylor senior photo shoot without a location that’s so central to Baylor,” campus photographer Catherine Kramer said.

A ceremonial groundbreaking of the Memorial to Enslaved Persons was held Friday at Founders Mall, marking the start of phase two of the project, which is expected to be completed by next year.

Leaving the Judge Baylor statue in place serves as a hateful reminder of Baylor’s past in a place intended to remember the lives of the enslaved people who built the original Independence campus. Allowing the statue to stand in the heart of campus diminishes the value of Baylor’s efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive campus.

Two Air Force ROTC cadets have found a new way to honor fallen Baylor alumni.

On Oct. 25, 1946, the first 84 of 144 granite lampposts were erected at Founder’s Mall on Baylor’s campus to honor Baylor men and women who gave their lives in military service.