Gr 9 Up—A riveting social media firestorm at a high school in California in 2017 sets the stage for a new book by
Slater, this time focused on school discipline and freedom of speech. Captivatingly crafted from interviews, news
reports, and courtroom documents.

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, 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) ( )

In 2017, a private instagram account is found that contains racist memes and images of people from small, high achieving Albany High School in California. The aftermath of this sends the targets, posters, followers, their families, and the community reeling. Slater interviewed many of the people involved over a period of years. The book is lengthy. Told in brief chapters it follows many of the players, includes what happens within the school, community, and legal system, and incorporates research from other sources. The book grapples with issues of race, the impact of racism, how people are held accountable for their actions, the culpability of bystanders, if reconciliation and community healing is possible, and how people move on with their lives after experiencing trauma.
There are no easy solutions and a lot of pain is experienced over the course of the book.
The writing is engaging and it brings to light a story that I was previously unfamiliar with. ( )