The Atlantic writer Jenisha Watts said she intends to send her young Black son to private school, citing her own experience of receiving a poor education in Kentucky. She said Nikole Hannah-Jones’s public-school regrets reinforced her view that she could not make the same choice for her son, prompting a wider debate over parental decisions, school inequality and access to alternatives.

Hannah-Jones said parents’ views are shaped by their childhood experiences, but maintained that public education is a vital common good and should be an equalising force. School-choice advocate Corey DeAngelis argued that Watts was right to prioritise her son and said families should have more options, while Watts acknowledged that Hannah-Jones is a close friend and defended her against criticism over her daughter’s education.