Just Next Door: Announcing a Big Move and the Future of this Blog

When we started this blog way back in 2011, we never could have guessed just how far it would go. From that first post about our “War of the Rebellion Atlas” maps being used by the U.S. Marine Corps to our coverage of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, the hidden stories in our archival…

Celebrating the life of Rev. Clay Evans of Chicago, Illinois (1925-2019)

The world lost a titan in the field of African-American religion on November 27 when the Rev. Clay Evans passed away at the age of 94 in his home city of Chicago. Evans was the founder and long-serving pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and an accomplished recording artist and songwriter. The Baylor Libraries’…

Celebrating Aretha Franklin

The passing of legendary artist Aretha Franklin has elicited an outpouring of praise from around the world, including in both mainstream and music-centered journalism outlets. Everyone from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork, the Detroit Free Press and Waco’s own Tribune-Herald have paid tribute to the “Queen of Soul” since her death from pancreatic cancer last week…

Visions of Rapture 2018: The Online Exhibit

The third annual Visions of Rapture exhibit celebrates the music from Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, specifically the 45 rpm discs that were released without cover art during their original pressings. Working with students in Prof. Andrew Baker’s ART 3333 course on Type and Design, the project showcases their visions of what cover art…

Remembering the West Explosion, Five Years Later (Classic Post)

On April 17, 2013, the course of history for the town of West, TX was changed forever. The following day, we wrote a brief blog post on the nature of recovery, perseverance and the fleeting nature of memory, data and life in general. Today, on the fifth anniversary of that devastating day, we are reposting…

A Second Helping of Thanksgiving Gratitude Courtesy Rev. Selsus E. Tull

Anyone can post an article about Thanksgiving the week of; what would happen if you got another chance to think about gratitude, thanksgiving and spirituality the week after? To find out, read this guest post by Professional Writing senior Will Overton on the theme of thanksgiving throughout the sermons of Rev. Selsus E. Tull. A…

Our Summer With Gabby: Hosting a Waco ISD Summer Intern

Fans of our Facebook page may recall seeing this photo at the start of the summer: This fresh-faced young lady is Gabriella “Gabby” Hernandez, a rising senior at Waco ISD’s University High School (home of the Trojans) and our 2017 Prosper Waco summer intern here at the Baylor University Libraries! Gabby spent 80 hours with…