The Historical Record Surrounding Robert E. B. Baylor and the University’s Founding
According to Baylor University, Robert E. B. Baylor was the man that the present university is named after. “One of the defining moments of R.E.B. Baylor’s life came in 1839 with his conversion to Christianity. He was ordained shortly after his conversion experience, leaving his flourishing political career in Alabama behind to spread the Gospel.” However, Robert Baylor spread the gospel of white supremacy as well. He may well have been described as a racist Christian nationalist of that time in 1845.
Robert E. B. Baylor’s Judicial Legacy
Baylor moved to Texas while in his 40s, was a judge and continued to devote his life to racist law. However, his faith would not wash away his bigotry. In 1841, he became an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. While judging cases around the state, some of which involved human beings listed as property. There were people that rejected racism in his time so don’t try to excuse this bigot.
It is in the historical record that he came from a bloody white supremacist family line. His preaching the “first sermon offered in Waco” might have told one something. We can only wonder what type of Christian racism he preached! He was involved in a number of religious organizations including the Texas Baptist Education Society which was steeped in hatred.
The Texas Baptist Education Society and Baylor University’s Origins
The Texas Baptist Education Society was founded in 1841 and was chartered by Texas to establish higher education, most notably Baylor University in 1845. Higher education in those days meant white supremacist education. The society’s founders and its early members were slave owners who supported white supremacy, some of the first Christian nationalists. The Texas Baptist State Convention after the Civil War, in Texas and across the South supported the mythical “Lost Cause” of the slave owners which promoted fake history. These bigots used sermons to preach compliance and obedience that enslaved Black people had to accept or be whipped or killed.
Segregation and the Admission of Black Students
True to the Baylor bigot family roots, “Throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th century, white-dominated Baptist universities—including Baylor University—prohibited the enrollment of Black students.” It was not until 1964 that the Baylor bigots bent a little with the introduction of the first Black students. True to the power of White supremacy in Texas at the time, “the final vote of the board was not unanimous.”
Read More: Campus Conversations About Judge Baylor’s History
Baylor’s Own Historical Record Exposes Its White Supremacist Legacy
The Baylor Website goes on to say that, “During his residence in Texas, Baylor owned slaves, predominantly women, including 33 enslaved people in 1860. Being a slaveholder formed a significant portion of his wealth, which totaled $24,000 in real estate and $35,000 in personal estate in 1860 — sums that made him among the wealthiest residents of Washington County at the time.” Wonder why women slaves? Rape was common during this time of female slaves.
The Baylor Family Legacy and the Confederacy
Baylor heard Legal cases involving slaves as judge in Texas showing his racist legacy. He was too old to fight in the Confederate army, but did his racist duty as a judge in Texas during the Civil War. He definitely supported the cutthroat cause of the Confederacy and their slave owners. Despite being a benefactor, Baylor was never president of the school, but his racism got him nominated.
“The White Man” Newspaper
Speaking of bigots in his family, John Baylor, Roberts Baylor’s nephew, led a white supremacist life as a noted genocidal killer of native people, commander of a Confederate invasion of New Mexico, racist Confederate congressman, and lawless gunfighter. He was also an editor of a racist newspaper called “The White Man.” The history of this bigot family will be revealed.
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