Baylor President Linda Livingstone said ceremonies like Tuesday’s remind the university it has “a long way to go” in its pursuit of a more inclusive campus. Malone-Mayes was more than just a titan of her field, Livingstone said.

“More than the things that she did, was the person that she was and the values that she represented,” Livingstone said. “I’m especially touched by her bravery and her courage through extremely challenging times to stand up for what she believed in, to do it with pride and grace, and to really stand up for justice in the midst of extreme persecution at not an easy time to do that.”

Robert Darden, a Baylor journalism professor and former Tribune-Herald reporter, was a driving force behind the ceremony. After he saw Malone-Mayes’ gravesite at Greenwood Cemetery vandalized in 2017, Darden sparked campuswide discussions about how she could be recognized by the university more than two decades after her death in 1995.

He said the best way to honor her legacy would be for Baylor to better commit to hiring diverse faculty members and administrators. Less than 7 percent of Baylor’s faculty is African-American, he said.