Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City

“Even Dasani’s name speaks of a certain reach. The bottled water had come to Brooklyn’s bodegas just before she was born, catching the fancy of her mother, who could not afford such indulgences. Who paid for water in a bottle? Just the sound of it—Dasani—conjured another life. It signaled the presence of a new people, at the turn of a new century, whose discovery of Brooklyn had just begun.”

Many of the family members’ names (“Avianna,” “Chanel,” even “Supreme”) can seem aspirational, speaking to privileges and ways of living that are generally beyond their circumstances. These names also often serve as sharp reminders of the extreme wealth gap in NYC and the cultural divide reinforced by gentrification.

“To follow Dasani, as she comes of age, is to follow her seven siblings. Whether they are riding the bus, switching trains, climbing steps, or jumping puddles, they always move as one. Only together have they learned to navigate poverty’s systems—ones with names suggesting help. Child protection. Public assistance. Criminal justice. Homeless services.”

This serves as an important summary of the many factors and obstacles that contribute to Dasani’s narrative. Her family is very close and depend on each other, but the stability of the family is forever threatened by the intervention of outside agencies.

“Dress fly. Do good in school. Or fight.”

This quote from Chanel is repeated so frequently throughout the book that it too becomes a kind of mantra, similar to Supreme’s advice of, “Whatever happens, stay together” (17). It points to three strategies for social success available to Dasani and her siblings. Outside of stealing, they rarely have the means to “[d]ress fly.” Some, especially Dasani, might have the aptitude to “[d]o good in school,” but financial stress and family trauma often derail their efforts. When the first two strategies fail, they resort to fighting—a pattern that is seen throughout the book.

“Lately, Miss Hester has been trying a risky exercise: She asks her students to write their own obituary. When given the option of choosing their lifespan, most of them aim for seventy. Then they must imagine all the things they would have accomplished.

‘I want them to see that they are the authors of their lives,’ she says.”

A morbid assignment given by Miss Hester to prompt her students to imagine a long life and to empower them. To the extent that the assignment asks the students to think long-term, whereas the circumstances of their lives often force them to live day-to-day, it anticipates the idea of “grit” (See: Index of Terms). It should be noted 70 is still well below the national average (77 as of 2023, which is down from the period in which the book takes place).

“White people divide into two categories: those who are paid to monitor Dasani’s family, and those who are called to help. Sometimes the same people wear both hats. Rarely does the family trust them.”

A direct description of the implicit racial segregation that Dasani experiences. The few white people Dasani knows are in positions of power over her and her family. However, they rarely have the background to relate to Dasani and her family in a meaningful way.

“Dasani and Chanel have no reason to trust me. Eventually, Chanel will confess that if I weren’t a mother, she would never have let me near her children. It also helps that I am not, in her words, ‘all white’ because I am ‘Latin.’”

A rare moment in which Elliott interjects herself into the story to discuss how she first met Dasani and Chanel. She typically minimizes her own presence in the text, though she claims to have witnessed most of the events described.

“To new acquaintances, she introduces herself by a third name—Makeba—which she took when she left the Bloods to marry a man whose own three names follow the same arc: the ‘slave name’ chosen by his parents (Eric), the ‘street name’ chosen by gangbangers (Rat Face), and ‘righteous name’ chosen by himself (Godsupreme).”

A reference to the complex relationships to naming evident throughout the book. Each name points to circumstances and choices that identify the individual.

“Supreme and Chanel have been scolded about their lack of financial discipline in countless meetings with city agencies. But when that money arrives, they do not think about abstractions like ‘personal responsibility’ and ‘self-reliance.’ They lose themselves in the delirium that a round of ice cream brings. They feel the sudden, exquisite rush born of wearing gold teeth again—of appearing like a person who has, rather than a person who lacks.”

This quote speaks to The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility. While Chanel and Supreme’s financial decisions often seem reckless to outsiders, or them, they arise from emotional needs engendered by long periods of deprivation.

“Today, one must dig to uncover the history of black Fort Greene, whose pioneers seem in danger of being forgotten. Dr. McKinney’s former brownstone at 205 DeKalb Avenue—the site of her thriving medical practice—would be listed for sale in 2016 for nearly $2.7 million, without any mention of its history.

Instead, the names of Brooklyn’s slave-holding families dominate the terrain. Boerum Hill (named for Simon Boerum, a man with three slaves). Wyckoff Street (Peter Wyckoff, enslaver of seven). Ditmas Park (four slaves). Luquer Street (thirteen). Van Brunt Street (seven). Cortelyou Road (two).”

Here, Elliott outlines how a neighborhood’s Black history is erased while wealthy, white families, many of them enslavers, are commemorated in the names of streets and neighborhoods.

“Among girls of means—those who don’t have to worry about the cost of tampons—menstruation is a celebrated milestone. Here in the projects, a girl can live in fear of blood-stained jeans. Her period is one more thing to outmaneuver.”

Elliot contrasts the experiences of the poor with the experiences of those with means throughout the book to illustrate The Lingering Effects of Poverty on various family members at different stages of their lives. For Dasani, the uncertainty and insecurity associated with adolescence is intensified by a lack of access to necessary resources.

“For decades to come, the Buffalo Soldiers’ heroics would be taught in Italian grade schools and reenacted by Italian civilians, while going largely ignored in America.”

In discussing the service of Joanie’s father June, Elliott offers evidence of how the heroic history of Black servicemembers is erased and overlooked in the US. June’s wartime service is mostly unknown even by his own family.

“Dasani’s great-grandfather—a triple Bronze Star veteran who had repaired military vehicles under Nazi fire—was by any measure a skillful mechanic. But June came to Brooklyn at a time when 94 percent of the profession was white. Instead, he cobbled together a living by working many jobs at once—sweeping floors, digging ditches, changing oil. Within seven years of moving to Brooklyn, June had worked for seven companies, including a bowling alley, a meat processor, and a service station.”

This speaks directly to how June’s experience with implicit segregation has a direct impact on his ability to secure employment. His struggles represent a significant loss in potential lifetime earnings that will be passed on to his children.

“In Chanel’s experience, white people came with calamity: They drove fire trucks. They pushed gurneys. They frisked the bodies of teenage boys.”

Like Dasani, Chanel’s interaction with white people is largely limited to experience with professionals. These interactions are fraught with danger, as these professionals represent entities that can exercise power over her without having much direct experience with the context of her life.

“Dasani took on the psychic task of managing strangers—of knowing when to say the right thing or avoid the wrong one. She learned to interpret facial expressions and vocal intonations. None of these skills were captured on her report card at P.S. 159, in East New York.”

The “education” Dasani receives through interactions with caseworkers is somewhat sarcastically contrasted with her formal education. In her report card, it is noted that she does not get along well with others.

“[Chanel] stood there in the dark. She could do nothing to reverse the fact that fifty-seven years after her mother was born, right here in this building, her remains had been lost in the garbage.”

This passage symbolically highlights The Lingering Effects of Poverty. It is emphasized throughout the book that Auburn, the shelter for the unhoused that Chanel lives in when Elliott meets her, was once a hospital where her mother Joanie was born. In an unfortunate twist, it also becomes Joanie’s final resting place.

“Dasani reasons that wealth belongs to ‘the whites’ because ‘they save their money and don’t spend it on drinking and smoking.’”

Dasani’s reflections speak to The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility. Here, she has internalized negative stereotypes of Black families that overlook the many systemic conditions that prevent them from accumulating wealth.

“When Dasani looks into the future, she sees who she won’t be. She won’t be a dropout. She won’t do drugs or smoke or drink. She won’t join a gang.”

Dasani’s vision of her future tends to focus on negative examples that she won’t be like. This is evidence of how few positive role models she has.

“Dasani’s strength, competence, and agility—the very attributes that could lift her into a better life—also make her indispensable, threatening to keep her mired in the problems Chanel cannot meet alone.”

This insight from Elliott makes clear that, in order to succeed, Dasani must meet challenges that many of her peers don’t have to face. Her talents mean that her family needs her, and investing in herself often feels like leaving them behind.

“Some Americans can afford to skip the lines of bureaucracy. They hire private agents to secure a new passport or a marriage certificate. The poor pay with their time.”

After missing curfew at the Auburn Shelter, Chanel and the children must travel to a different part of the city and wait in line to be readmitted. This quote highlights how the inefficiencies of the system compound the family’s problems.

“On the stoop, Supreme was standing in the snow, his eyes wet. He hugged Dasani hard, saying ‘I love you,’ which he never says. Then he watched her step away.

‘I’m mad jealous,’ he said softly. ‘Wish I could do it all over again.’”

A rare moment of emotional sentiment expressed by Supreme toward his stepdaughter. He is typically temperamental and emotionally closed off. This moment of self-reflection also speaks to the opportunities he has not had access to in his lifetime.

“The unspoken message is clear. In order to leave poverty, Dasani must also leave her family—at least for a while.”

A message that is reinforced in many subtle and direct ways when Dasani is at Hershey. Given Dasani’s strong bond with her family, it is ultimately not an acceptable option. It also speaks to many misguided historical attempts to address poverty by separating poor children from their families.

“Hershey wants to be the opposite of a ‘legacy school.’ After all, a child must be poor to apply. If the descendants of Hershey’s alumni do not qualify for admission, then the school has done its job.”

Hershey is contrasted with the legacy school model often evident in elite schools, where the children of (usually wealthy) alumni have a much better chance of being admitted. The legacy model of education presents barriers to poor students seeking admission.

“‘It’s gonna be like how it was,’ Chanel whispers.

‘I know,’ says Avianna.”

A moment of double meaning between Chanel and Avianna. Chanel is speaking of a time when the family was together and stable. Avianna is imagining the time before Chanel was removed from the house because of her substance abuse disorder.

“When confronted with the unknown, it helps to reach for the familiar. Ideally, a call home would anchored Dasani, reminding her of where she belongs.

Instead, she feels disconnected.”

Getting ready to move to a new house at Hershey, Dasani has a difficult conversation with her family in which she feels disconnected from her siblings. This highlights her sense of isolation at Hershey.