Dashka Slater

For real, this is the best book I've read in a year, probably longer. Do you want to have conversations about [b:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328751532s/6792458.jpg|6996712] and non-binary gender and modern segregation and the school-to-prison pipeline and restorative justice and intersectionality, and you want to do all of it show more based on reading one short book that neither you nor your teenagers will be able to put down? I'm not sure how, but Dashka Slater has managed to make this possible. I gulped the whole thing down on the train from Boston to New York, and then panicked because I'd only brought the one book and still had another 4 hours to DC. Everybody over the age of, say, 14 in America should read this book. show less

The 57 Bus is the story of Sasha and Richard: two Oakland teenagers whose paths crossed on the 57 bus in November 2013. Richard, egged on by his friends, lights Sasha's skirt on fire, which bursts into flames and results in 3rd degree burns. Richard is charged with a hate crime because Sasha identifies as agender, and the DA decides to try him as an adult over the objections of Sasha's family. This is a harrowing look at gender identity and the juvenile justice system, organized in short show more easily digestible chapters. A few are even in verse. I found this book to be as engrossing as any novel, leaving me with many things to reflect on. I recommend it! show less

In Albany, CA, in 2017, a high school student started an Instagram account where he created and shared racist images and memes - some featuring classmates, even classmates he and his friends were friends with. But when those classmates - mostly Black and biracial girls - found out about the account and shared the information with the school administration, all hell broke loose. The account creator and followers were punished, while the victims of the account suffered mentally, emotionally, show more and academically. There was an attempt at restorative justice, a sit-in/protest, and a series of lawsuits. Slater asks readers to consider the concepts of accountability and justice; the difference between guilt and shame; and the history of "justice" in this country. Deeply researched, including conversations with most of the people closest to the incident - students, parents, teachers, coaches, administrators, lawyers - most of the narrative is journalistic in style, but some is in the second person, and some is free verse. Powerful.

Quotes/Notes

There was something in Charles that flinched away from the harm that people close to him had caused. (105)

The support will feel good, and it will also feel terrible. Every time someone's eyes fill with tears, they'll yank a brick out of the wall you've constructed, the wall between you and the emotions you can't be feeling if you want to get through the day. (121)

...nothing he could do now would make up for what he hadn't done then. (125)

To be offended was to be excluded... (137)

Four kinds of justice: punitive, permissive, restorative, transformative (147-148)

...online bullying and bigotry are particularly prone to the bystander effect. (171)

Everyone wanted to see justice done, but what did that mean, exactly? Historically, justice has been meted out differently to different types of people. (185)

Accountability: "an understanding that a harm took place and that you are responsible for a piece of that harm." (Aishatu Yusuf, Impact Justice, 185)

...people are more likely to turn around their behavior if they are treated with respect and praised for their improvements rather than humiliated for their shortcomings....public shaming and labeling actually get in the way or a person feeling guilt for what they've done. (250)

Stereotype threat (317)

...we talk about race all the time as if it were a genuine scientific concept. (369)

There is no science behind race. But there is plenty of history. (372)

How do you quantify the person you are now compared to who you would have been before? (439)

What Time Does
It doesn't heal all wounds
It doesn't erase the pain
What time does is
add
new pages
to your story
so when you scan the past
there's something else to read. (443) show less

Thought-provoking, insightful examination of a crime committed against an agender teen by a black teen in Oakland, California in 2013. Journalist Dashka Slater goes beyond the common media angles to probe current social issues such as gender identity, adolescent impulsivity, racial bias, and the criminal justice system. The author explores questions that could be useful in youth discussion groups or food-for-thought for anyone:

• What separates a hate crime from an impulsive, reckless show more decision?
• Should juveniles be tried and sentenced as adults? What are the potential impacts?
• How did the expression of gender identity influence the behavior of others? How did the expressions of support change this behavior?
• How can understanding of differences increase tolerance and acceptance?
• How does news reporting and social media influence public opinion? How does this book attempt to go further than the surface treatment of this case?
• What roles do remorse and forgiveness play in the outcome?

The book is divided into four sections: Sasha, Richard, the Fire, and Justice. Chapters are short and riveting. Up-to-date gender terminology is conveyed. We get to know the families and background of those involved, and I cared about what happened to them. It would be nice to see an addition to the book at some point in the future to find out each of these two fares later in life.

Recommended to readers who wish to become more informed about gender identity issues, juvenile crime, and criminal justice concerns. Book clubs may also be interested, as it challenges many commonly-held assumptions and includes lots of room for debate. Contains language and graphic descriptions the results of a person being set on fire. I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. show less