Events › Accountable book talk with Dashka Slater, in conversation with Aishatu Yusuf at Albany High School Little Theater

This program is part of Albany Reads.

Please note that this program will take place at the Albany High School Little Theater at 603 Key Route Blvd, Albany, CA 94706

Program description:

Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Dashka Slater will be joined by Aishatu Yusuf, Vice President of Innovative Programs at Impact Justice for an engaging conversation about Accountable. Following the conversation there will be time for audience questions. We hope to see you there!

About the book:

Accountable is a propulsive and thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a racist social media account that changes everything for a group of high school students and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen?

When a student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as “edgy” humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew.

In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: Where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean?

Dashka Slater is the author of fifteen books of fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has written for such publications as The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Salon, and Mother Jones. Her New York Times-bestselling young-adult true crime narrative, The 57 Bus, has received numerous accolades, including the Stonewall Book Award, the California Book Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor.  In 2021, The 57 Bus was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Dashka teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults program. She lives and writes in Oakland, California. Learn more at dashkaslater.com.

Aishatu Yusuf, Vice President of Innovation Programs at Impact Justice

Aishatu R. Yusuf, MPA, Ed.D. (c), has over a decade of experience in crafting innovative solutions to address the impact and extent of race and gender bias in the administration of justice for marginalized groups, including low-resource communities, system-impacted people, youth, girls, and women. At Oakland non-profit Impact Justice, Aishatu has worked on a portfolio of transformational projects including California Justice Leaders: a first-of-its-kind AmeriCorps reentry program for formerly incarcerated young adults and The Homecoming Project: a social justice extension of the sharing economy model in partnership with the Food in Prison Project.

Aishatu has presented nationwide, provided legislative testimony, drafted education policy for Congressional leaders, and has been interviewed by numerous national and local publications, television programs, and podcasts. Aishatu is a current doctoral candidate at The Johns Hopkins University School of Education and holds a Master of Public Administration from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah.

Made possible by generous support from the Friends of the Albany Library.