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…

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…

Evangeline’s Windy City Pilgrimage

Sometimes a project comes together after a long, thought-out process. Sometimes it’s serendipity – something you couldn’t plan for just happens and the right things come together. Sometimes it spins organically out of an existing situation, a related set of materials nestled together under a broader umbrella. And sometimes, it’s all of those things ……

Friday Extra: Why Scream When You Can Shout!

If this first full week of October has been stressful, tiring or just plain exhausting, take heart! A new series of 2-minute segments called Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments has begun airing on Waco’s local NPR affiliate, KWBU-FM. Hosted by Robert Darden, they will feature stories from the Golden Age of Gospel (1945-1975) and will…

The Scene at the Crossroads: A Peek at Baylor’s Presence in the NMAAHC

Friends of the blog have long known – since 2013, to be exact – that material from our Black Gospel Music Restoration Project would become part of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). And now, as the museum is set to open its doors on September 24, 2016, we…