Imbalanced Equality

          The book Accountable, by Dashka Slater, tells the story of an incident that took place during the year 2017 at a local high school in Albany, caused by a group of high school students who posted horrific and questionable images on social media targeting fellow students of color for their enjoyment. This situation went nationwide causing students to rise and protest in rebellion. The book focuses on the racial injustice these youth had to suffer while also putting into consideration the effect it had on their mental well-being. Systemic Racism greatly contributed to acts of normalizing racism. It also leads to unintentional acts of implicit bias within a community like the situation at Albany.

          Synthetic racism along with the school’s lack of attention to situations regarding racism allowed it to be normalized which has put students in dangerous situations. In a small town called Albany, where the residents were predominantly white, an incident occurred leading to the expulsion of a group of students, one of them being a student called Murphy. After being expelled from school Murphy, and everyone else expelled, spent most of their time at home doing remote learning. One day while being scolded by his father about his actions, Murphy’s brother expresses his opinion about the situation. The compassionate and reasonable brother explains, “He had been a part of the Broke Boys Instagram account two years earlier and they’d post the same kind of stuff---Back then nothing happened” (Slater 164). The schools’ lack of attention to situations regarding racist posts years prior influences people in the present to repeat the same actions since there seemed to be no penalty. The school isn’t taking the initiative or doing anything to prevent situations like these from forming again. This only allows situations like these to happen more commonly around the area. This is the sole reason this particular situation got to the point that it’s at. The school may find a way to try and solve the situation so everyone gets what they want. After being expelled for a couple of days the school finally finds a “Solution” to resolve both the perpetrators and victim problems. They decide to hold a meeting between all of them. Word about this meeting spreads quickly throughout the school and an hour later a bunch of people end up showing up to protest in rebellion. After a bit, the protest gets out of hand so the students are forced to evacuate. While doing so they get crowded by a mob of students. A student in particular, Steven, was put at risk. The frightful and scared Steven tries to escape but, “Another student, a Black kid named Keshawn, was throwing punches too. A blow grazed Steven’s head and he stumbled into a hedge” (Slater 235). The school's attempt to try and solve the situation only led students like Steven to be put in danger. The school at this point is only trying to cover up its mistakes, errors, and flaws. This meeting was just to manipulate the community into believing they care about the situation and are doing everything in their power to make it right. When in reality they have done nothing but only cause more chaos and tension between the students. The school's attempt to improve the situation has only worsened it over time.

          The act of implicit bias greatly contributes to the unintentional acts of racism demonstrated among teachers and staff at Albany High School. Albany is home to a predominantly white area where about 25% are Asian, 13% are Latinx, and 4% are Black. A person like Andrea who is a part of that small fraction of the population who are Black can relate to the struggles thrown at them as well as the awkwardness of living in an area where you are vastly different from others. One day while in class Andrea and her classmates are assigned a project, where they must dress up as a famous historical figure. The confused and displeased Andrea explains how she had to, “Dress up like someone from history. Assignments are supposed to be random. You get Harriet Tubman” (Slater 20). Implicit bias isn’t intentional but rather oblivious to someone's knowledge. This can be caused by exposure to racist acts which develop a stereotype in their heads. So, when faced with situations that relate to race, many can be oblivious or even believe that the actions they do are good when in reality it seems like they are racist. This can lead people like Andrea to be self-conscious about herself. She may be wondering how she is perceived by others who aren’t like her. After experiencing this interaction, Andrea was left curious and questionable about the teachers' actions. Andrea had experienced these situations commonly throughout her classes at Albany, mostly from her teachers. One question left her questioning how others see her, wondering if she is different. The confused Andrea mentions, "Teacher asks you if everything’s okay at home. It is so why is she asking?” (Slater 20). People can also create implicit biases regarding someone's safety. While this may be seen as caring and aware it creates self-doubt among students. Wondering “Why does she care about my safety so much”. It could create an uneasy feeling, potentially negatively affecting the students' minds and well-being. Implicit bias is oblivious which can cause people to make assumptions that may have an impactful feeling on students.

          Implicit bias greatly contributes to the acts of normalizing racism and causing unintentional acts of implicit bias within the community of Albany. The school system’s lack of attention to racist situations regarding hatred towards a certain ethnic group has only allowed racist behaviors to spread among the community putting people's lives in danger. Students and Administrative teachers should also be educated on how their actions affect someone's opinion about themselves. Teachers at the School of Albany think they are doing the right thing by checking up on black students to ensure they are doing fine at home. In reality, this only makes the environment tense because they feel uncomfortable, believing that you are making assumptions about them based on what you heard or believed. People, especially adults who are supposed to be “wiser” than the youth, should know how to handle situations like these. The faster you eliminate the problem then the less likely people get hurt. I believe that SRHS can learn from these events and prevent these types of situations from occurring. SRHS is much wiser when it comes to assessing a situation, unlike Albany who didn’t at all and just started suspending kids out of the blue. Staff would do the best they can to track people down and get their part of the story before even putting any consequences. I believe SRHS is better at assessing a situation and knowing when it gets police authority involved. Dashka Slater's message throughout the book Accountable is to warn kids about the dangers of posting racist images or doing anything offensive on social media, demonstrating the consequences that could occur and the effect it has on everyone's mental well-being; using Albany High School as a prime example. The message throughout the whole book is very impactful and touching to one's mind. Many schools like SRHS can learn and become more coordinated when it comes to situations like these. Learning from the past to pave the way for a safer and better future.