Institutional racism and implicit bias in social media

In 2017, there was a surge of racist comments and thoughts surrounding a group of high school students who went to Albany High School in California. Racism was something not foreign to the school but the racist post on Instagram, was something entirely different. From lawsuits to death threats, there was a little bit of everything as a result of comments said online. These were concepts all exposed in the book Accountable by Dashka Slater. It exposed how institutional racism and biases contribute a fair amount to incidents like the one at Albany High School. Systematic racism lingers every day in the form of interactions and contributes to harmful outcomes. The quote, “The race jokes, for example. Charles was always making them. Jokes about fried chicken or Ana being a slave. At the time it didn’t seem that big a deal to her”( Slater 24). This highlights how normalized racist jokes can be outside a school environment. These jokes, although seemingly harmless, reflect who you are as a person and the societal issues around you. Racist stereotypes are accepted and found funny still to this day, showing that nothing much has changed. This normalization of racism contributes to the environment that we as humans want to change, the one where students of color feel dehumanized and marginalized. Allowing such behavior to go unchecked, the school system indirectly supports the culture of discrimination. This incident at Albany High School is not an isolated case but a case that was only popular enough for America to open its eyes because it reached the news headlines. The issue of systematic racism affects many educational institutions and will continue if not changed. For example, “It wasn’t the first time this kind of thing had happened at Albany High School. It seemed like there was a social media scandal every couple of years.”(Slater 62). Considering how there is a pattern of social media scandals reveals how persistent the problem within the school; environment is. The problem with the environment is that racist behaviors and attitudes are not ever addressed. This ongoing cycle is a clear indication of the systematic racism embedded deeply into the roots of the institution. This again shows how this problem is not restricted to only Albany High School but is affecting the US.

The schools and other institutes in America have been turning a blind eye to this kind of behavior for a while, most of this is not even noticed till pointed out. This is known as implicit bias. The constant jabs at people of color has been a thing that was supposedly left in the past but yet, it still happens: “Class discussion of slavery. Everyone looks over at you. Teacher asks you-the only Black kid in the class-if you have any thoughts”(Slater 20). The experience of being being singled out for their skin color by being asked to share their reactions in a discussion about slavery is a deceptive way to show implicit bias and how it shapes the individual and institutional responses. The teacher’s actions, although unlikely intentional, drives the thought that a black student's input is more relevant to a discussion simply because they have similar skin color. Additionally, the kids were in the same boat when it came to turning a blind eye to racism, also known as implicit bias Some kids who were involved with the situation showed implicit bias even while knowing that some part of their actions were wrong: “He couldn’t remember much besides the fact that it seemed ‘edgy’ Eren liked edgy humor- he followed YouTubers like iDubbbz and Filthy Frank who were known for their provocative antics. From what he could remember, the @yungcavage account had felt like it was in the same vein”(Slater 84). By allowing ideas like these to float around in the environment can cause way more damage than direct racism or biases because everyone knows about it but no one knows that it is harming others. The boys in the situation are losing their hand on reality and slowly losing themselves to the influencers around them. This happens to everyone even if they don’t realize it, from fashion to diets to slang, the internet has shaped the individuals that make up our institutions and for this case for the worse.

In conclusion, the incident at Albany High School serves as a reminder of the persistent conflicts caused by institutional racism and implicit bias that plague the educational environment across the US. This book serves as a story to illustrate the harmful attitudes that are often normalized and go unchecked, leading to a blinded culture that marginalizes students of color and promotes discriminatory behavior. This same challenge could be addressed at SRHS, I feel like SRHS would deal with these kinds of conflicts more deliberately and without as much repercussions. By addressing these deeply rooted issues we can begin to disassemble the systematic racism that has affected so many students but also contributes to a greater societal challenge.