I began my walk this morning listing to @serial’s #NiceWhiteParents podcast and when I was done my head was throbbing. The story I’ve told for 40 years is that midway through 5th grade at #PS32 in Brooklyn, my family moved us to Staten Island—and I’ve never gotten over it.

Had we not moved to Staten Isl, I would have gone to School 293 profiled in this series. That would have been 1975. I remember #PS32 as integrated and challenging. When I got to Prall IS in SI, I was one of 2 Black kids in my classes. Most White kids came by school bus.

We moved to SI to be closer to family, trading the Gowanus housing projects in #NiceWhiteParents for projects in West New Brighton, Staten Isl. I asked my Mother this morning, was she aware of School 293 when we chose to move six months before I would have enrolled—“No, no clue”.

My father never graduated high school, my mom had a high school diploma and her mother grew up sharecropping and doing domestic work for the Vanderbilts in North Carolina leaving school in 4th grade. It never would have occurred to Mom to ask about the quality of the school.

I can’t help but wonder now what would have happened if we hadn’t moved. To hear in episode 2 of all of the private schools that were created in Brooklyn in the 1960s and 70s as alternatives to real integration makes me sad and irate.

Some of these schools were created by #Episcopalians. As bishop of @IndyEpiscopal I send my son to @sresdragons created 60 years ago with a focus on serving a diverse student body in Indianapolis. I confess to getting deep in the weeds about this as a bishop/parent.

What breaks my heart and makes my neck tense is seeing how hard it is for change to actually occur despite intentions. I’m not naive and I know it’s complicated. And I wrestle with critiquing a system I’ve temporarily opted out of but care about deeply—public education.

This is probably my longest tweet but I expect to be more vocal and active in the public education arena. If it seems odd or contradictory that a private school parent is getting into this mix I want my motivations to be clear. Staying uninvolved is not an option.