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Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed.
Author: Dashka Slater
ISBN: 978-0-374-31434-7
APA Style Citation
Slater, D. (2023). Accountable: The True Story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives it changed. MacMillan Publishing Group, New York, N.Y.
Buy this Book
https://www.amazon.com/Accountable-Racist-Account-Teenagers-Changed-ebook/dp/B0B66JL4DR
Book Description
The true story took place in Albany, California, in 2017, a small liberal town in the Bay Area that was roughly 50% White, 25% Asian, and just over 10% Latino, while African Americans made up about 3% of the population. Most of the working population were professionals with college degrees. Many families stretched their budgets to move into the Albany school district, which was known for its high academic standards and smaller school sizes. High school students felt pressure to gain admission to a good college, and generally, they worked hard to earn good grades and high test scores.
A group of junior boys often hung out at a boy named Charles’ house because the boy’s parents were often out or left the boys alone and did not always keep tabs on what they were up to. The boys drank, played video games, and when they were not together, communicated through social media. The girls at the school were typical of many other high school girls, worried about school, fashion, and their social standing. Some of the African American students in the school reported instances of micro-aggressions in which people might not expect that they were in AP classes, or they felt like they had to represent their race, and be the only black student in many of their classes. Charles sometimes made comments about race that the other students and his friends initially took as jokes, and others often made comments to Charles about his Asian background.
While scrolling through Instagram one evening after going to a movie, a group of friends discovered an Instagram account created by Charles and his friends, which made fun of a girl’s hair and skin color. Both girls were African American. Other offensive posts were made about some of the Asian girls in the school, it did not take long for school officials to find out about the account. While Charles and his friends created the account, it was initially set up as a private account intended to roast others and was not anyone’s main account. Since most of the account's followers were in Charles’ inner circle, when things were impolite or racist, many of his friends assumed it was just Charles being himself. As more people began to follow the account, it started to include others who were not part of Charles’ inner circle.
As word got out, the old posts and those that Charles thought he had deleted came out and were shared with others who were mentioned on the account. The posts included derogatory posts about looks, references to lynching, and racist groups/organizations. When the boys, including Charles, found out that people were upset about the account, it was deleted, thinking that was the end of it. But the repercussions were just beginning. Andrea, an African American girl at the school who had been friends with individuals from many racial groups, felt hurt and isolated by the posts because the posts targeted her race. She began to become reclusive and not trust others.
Charles became a pariah and was scorned by those who were the target of the account, as well as by his friends, who had to be cautious about being seen with him. After the police were involved, he eventually found the courage to call his older sister and threatened to hurt himself because he believed that he had lost all his friends. While Charles was in middle school, his father was arrested for possession of child pornography and committed suicide shortly thereafter, and he did not want to further burden his mother with this issue. While Charles had pent-up anger after the events with his father, he never talked about it with others. Eventually, of course, his mother did find out, and the school recommended that he be expelled.
While Charles claimed that this was all a joke, some of those who were the focus of the posts wanted the school to openly discuss what had occurred and prosecute the boys involved as if this were a hate crime. Others just wanted it to go away and continue their high school careers. The parents of the boys who were less directly involved wanted the punishment to reflect their level of involvement, but this was challenging considering the schools no-tolerance policy for these types of actions. Attempts at mediation led to a massive school protest, which ended with the boys being shuttled away from the school due to concerns for their safety. One of the boys had a broken nose after being punched in the face.
A church event finally provided a bit of catharsis for those targeted by the Instagram account, and some of the parents on both sides began to communicate. Some of this communication broke down, while in other cases it provided some healing. The boys who were affiliated with the account stayed home and homeschooled together while the girls who were the targets responded in a number of different ways. One cried every day. Another avoided school, especially classes that had account followers. As the school decided what to do, some of the girls found the courage to speak at a board meeting to describe what the account had meant to them and how it was impacting their well-being.
Lawsuits from both sides began about the damage of the account and the right to a public education. Charles was ultimately expelled and lost a scholarship he had previously had to study in France. He moved in with his sister and her boyfriend, found a job and started to address his anger issues. He finished his GED and ultimately moved to Florida when his stepfather gave him an ultimatum to get a job or pay rent. Other students wound up in therapy, some tried to graduate early.
Ultimately, the case went before a judge who applied the “Tinker Test” to determine the degree of distraction posed by the Instagram account to the educational environment. It was ruled that the account caused a reasonable disruption since many of the pictures were taken at school, and that the account could not be expected to remain private.
The school paid lawsuits to those on the account, which in some cases was not quite enough to cover the cost of online school. Others received payouts that covered the cost of their lawyers. These payouts were made to the student who created the account due to the lost time at school and emotional trauma experienced after the account was discovered, while Andrea received a collective payout of approximately $80,000 from the families of those who created the account. She used this money for her tuition at Howard University.
Accountable is a difficult book to read, but it covers an important topic about the power of social media to cause real harm, whether intended or not. It also addresses the responsibility of those who follow hateful accounts and the role of schools to mediate the accounts and fallout from the damage done, while also respecting all student’s constitutional rights.
Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://www.accountablebook.com
Vanderbilt University: Best Practices for a Successful Social Media Account
Social media accounts
Cyberbullying Research Center
Smart Social Networking: 15 tips for teens
American Psychological Association
Keeping Kids safe on Social Media
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dr. Brene Brown
James Flynn
Bystander effect
Catharsis
Deindividuation
Diffusion of responsibility
Discrimination
Flynn effect
Genetics
Prejudice
Stereotyping
Stereotype threat
Author: Dashka Slater
ISBN: 978-0-374-31434-7
APA Style Citation
Slater, D. (2023). Accountable: The True Story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives it changed. MacMillan Publishing Group, New York, N.Y.
Buy this Book
https://www.amazon.com/Accountable-Racist-Account-Teenagers-Changed-ebook/dp/B0B66JL4DR
Book Description
The true story took place in Albany, California, in 2017, a small liberal town in the Bay Area that was roughly 50% White, 25% Asian, and just over 10% Latino, while African Americans made up about 3% of the population. Most of the working population were professionals with college degrees. Many families stretched their budgets to move into the Albany school district, which was known for its high academic standards and smaller school sizes. High school students felt pressure to gain admission to a good college, and generally, they worked hard to earn good grades and high test scores.
A group of junior boys often hung out at a boy named Charles’ house because the boy’s parents were often out or left the boys alone and did not always keep tabs on what they were up to. The boys drank, played video games, and when they were not together, communicated through social media. The girls at the school were typical of many other high school girls, worried about school, fashion, and their social standing. Some of the African American students in the school reported instances of micro-aggressions in which people might not expect that they were in AP classes, or they felt like they had to represent their race, and be the only black student in many of their classes. Charles sometimes made comments about race that the other students and his friends initially took as jokes, and others often made comments to Charles about his Asian background.
While scrolling through Instagram one evening after going to a movie, a group of friends discovered an Instagram account created by Charles and his friends, which made fun of a girl’s hair and skin color. Both girls were African American. Other offensive posts were made about some of the Asian girls in the school, it did not take long for school officials to find out about the account. While Charles and his friends created the account, it was initially set up as a private account intended to roast others and was not anyone’s main account. Since most of the account's followers were in Charles’ inner circle, when things were impolite or racist, many of his friends assumed it was just Charles being himself. As more people began to follow the account, it started to include others who were not part of Charles’ inner circle.
As word got out, the old posts and those that Charles thought he had deleted came out and were shared with others who were mentioned on the account. The posts included derogatory posts about looks, references to lynching, and racist groups/organizations. When the boys, including Charles, found out that people were upset about the account, it was deleted, thinking that was the end of it. But the repercussions were just beginning. Andrea, an African American girl at the school who had been friends with individuals from many racial groups, felt hurt and isolated by the posts because the posts targeted her race. She began to become reclusive and not trust others.
Charles became a pariah and was scorned by those who were the target of the account, as well as by his friends, who had to be cautious about being seen with him. After the police were involved, he eventually found the courage to call his older sister and threatened to hurt himself because he believed that he had lost all his friends. While Charles was in middle school, his father was arrested for possession of child pornography and committed suicide shortly thereafter, and he did not want to further burden his mother with this issue. While Charles had pent-up anger after the events with his father, he never talked about it with others. Eventually, of course, his mother did find out, and the school recommended that he be expelled.
While Charles claimed that this was all a joke, some of those who were the focus of the posts wanted the school to openly discuss what had occurred and prosecute the boys involved as if this were a hate crime. Others just wanted it to go away and continue their high school careers. The parents of the boys who were less directly involved wanted the punishment to reflect their level of involvement, but this was challenging considering the schools no-tolerance policy for these types of actions. Attempts at mediation led to a massive school protest, which ended with the boys being shuttled away from the school due to concerns for their safety. One of the boys had a broken nose after being punched in the face.
A church event finally provided a bit of catharsis for those targeted by the Instagram account, and some of the parents on both sides began to communicate. Some of this communication broke down, while in other cases it provided some healing. The boys who were affiliated with the account stayed home and homeschooled together while the girls who were the targets responded in a number of different ways. One cried every day. Another avoided school, especially classes that had account followers. As the school decided what to do, some of the girls found the courage to speak at a board meeting to describe what the account had meant to them and how it was impacting their well-being.
Lawsuits from both sides began about the damage of the account and the right to a public education. Charles was ultimately expelled and lost a scholarship he had previously had to study in France. He moved in with his sister and her boyfriend, found a job and started to address his anger issues. He finished his GED and ultimately moved to Florida when his stepfather gave him an ultimatum to get a job or pay rent. Other students wound up in therapy, some tried to graduate early.
Ultimately, the case went before a judge who applied the “Tinker Test” to determine the degree of distraction posed by the Instagram account to the educational environment. It was ruled that the account caused a reasonable disruption since many of the pictures were taken at school, and that the account could not be expected to remain private.
The school paid lawsuits to those on the account, which in some cases was not quite enough to cover the cost of online school. Others received payouts that covered the cost of their lawyers. These payouts were made to the student who created the account due to the lost time at school and emotional trauma experienced after the account was discovered, while Andrea received a collective payout of approximately $80,000 from the families of those who created the account. She used this money for her tuition at Howard University.
Accountable is a difficult book to read, but it covers an important topic about the power of social media to cause real harm, whether intended or not. It also addresses the responsibility of those who follow hateful accounts and the role of schools to mediate the accounts and fallout from the damage done, while also respecting all student’s constitutional rights.
Other Related Resources
Author’s website
https://www.accountablebook.com
Vanderbilt University: Best Practices for a Successful Social Media Account
Social media accounts
Cyberbullying Research Center
Smart Social Networking: 15 tips for teens
American Psychological Association
Keeping Kids safe on Social Media
Psychological Figures and Concepts
Dr. Brene Brown
James Flynn
Bystander effect
Catharsis
Deindividuation
Diffusion of responsibility
Discrimination
Flynn effect
Genetics
Prejudice
Stereotyping
Stereotype threat
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