Forum From the Archives: What a Racist Instagram Account Did to the Town of Albany

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 23 November 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2017 students at Albany High School in the East Bay became aware of a private instagram account created by a student, and followed by just over a dozen more, containing viciously racist posts about fellow classmates. The disputes about why it happened, how to hold the creator and the followers accountable, and what to do about the anger, shame and fear caused by the posts tore through the school and the town. “Whatever you believed about Albany, about America, about teenagers, racism, sexism, social media, punishment and the public discourse on each of these topics, the story of the Instagram account could be marshaled as evidence. It was the incident that explained everything and yet also the incident that couldn’t be explained,” writes Dashka Slater. We talk to her about her five years of reporting on the story and her book, “Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed”. Guests: Dashka Slater, author, "Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed." - Her previous books include "The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:34.7	From KQED.
0:48.0	Music from KQED. From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal with a holiday edition of forum from our archives.
0:54.0	In 2017, a student at Albany High School created an Instagram account for his friends and
0:58.5	began posting viciously racist memes about black students.
1:02.6	When the account came to light, a firestorm erupted over how to hold the creator and
1:06.8	his followers accountable and what to do about the anger and fear caused by the posts.
1:12.1	Journalist Dashka Slater spent years reporting on what happened for her book,
1:16.3	accountable, the true story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives
1:20.6	have changed. And as schools grapple with our current moment, it seemed worth remembering
1:25.1	how this community struggled to create a just and
1:27.8	compassionate way forward. We listen back right after this news.
1:41.3	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. If you were in or around Albany High School in 2017, you know about the account.
	...

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