About the Rt. Reverend John T. Walker

About The Rt. Reverend John T. Walker

A black and white photograph of Bishop John T. Walker
As the first African American Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, The Right Reverend John Thomas Walker took to heart his parents' foundational belief that education was the door to opportunity. Pastor, teacher, cathedral builder, civil rights leader, ecumenist, social justice pioneer, urban missionary, relief worker, statesman — Bishop Walker brought together races, faiths, and nations in the common cause of understanding and brotherhood. As the first teacher of African American descent at St. Paul 's School, Concord, New Hampshire, he taught and organized the education of the world's elite as well as the nation's most easily forgotten children. As a priest of the church, he drew on his own challenging life experiences, growing up in Georgia, to explain why he worked unceasingly, to assure that future generations of African American students would find the doors of every educational institution in America open to them. Often working behind the scenes, he shared his radical belief — with presidents, world leaders, and the ordinary people — that our broken world can yet be restored. He always remembered the children and their role in our world's future.

Click here to listen to a powerful sermon given by Bishop Walker about the importance of children.