The issue some lawmakers and teachers have with Project 2025 regarding the DOE is the funding the DOE provides to thousands of local schools and programs through its $80 billion budget. From supporting public school programs, students with disabilities, and providing student loans for college, these people may be vulnerable if a ban passes.

“It’s not just about me,” Mitchell-Wells said. “It’s about my mom, my grandma and my ancestors. Hair holds power. Changing it can shift how people perceive you and it allows for self-expression.”

“Any talk of the triumph of Christianity, or the spread of human culture, is idle twaddle so long as the Waco lynching is possible in the United States of America,” W.E.B. Du Bois, founder and chief editor, wrote in The Crisis, Vol. 12 (No. 3).

“I think being at Baylor, especially with this Christian mission, is an honor itself,” Hornik said. “But to also receive [this] recognition really solidifies my thoughts that this was the place I should be –– and that God wanted me to be –– for my career.”