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

Born May 26, 2001, “a wisp of a baby” (222). Dasani, full name Dasani Joanie-Lashawn Coates (166) is the titular “invisible child” and the primary focus of the book. To the extent that this work of journalism also uses literary devices and narrative structures commonly associated with bildungsroman (coming-of-age fiction), it is also helpful to think of her as the protagonist.

Dasani is intelligent, athletic, and fiercely protective of her family, especially her mother and her sister Avianna. Throughout Invisible Child, she must confront various obstacles to find her path. She is fortunate to find several opportunities to succeed, including through her athleticism and her relationship with Giant and through her intellectual skills and her time at Hershey. Many of her teachers talk of her as a typical “parentified child.”

Ultimately, there is no direct path out of poverty for her. Her commitment to her family makes it impossible for her to endure separation from them. The agencies (like ACS) that supervise her life believe separation is in her best interest, but the trauma she feels when she is separated and the responsibility, she feels for her other siblings make this path impossible.

Dasani has many role models, including Miss Hester, Mr. Akers, and her therapist Julie Williams. She struggles with the code-switching (See: Index of Terms) needed to succeed outside her immediate community—as she sees such cross-cultural fluency as a betrayal of her identity and her family. Her mentors attempt to help her reframe these ideas, but she cannot overcome her fear of “acting white” or being “fake.” At the end of the book, it looks as though Dasani has found her own way, reuniting with her mother and her siblings Avianna and Papa while also looking forward to college. Even so, many obstacles remain and her success is far from guaranteed.

Chanel is the second most central figure in the book, after Dasani. Born to Joanie and Sonny Boy, she is taken in by Sonny Boy and his wife Sherry, who provide an opportunity for a stable upbringing. However, Sonny Boy dies in a work accident. Sherry tries to help Chanel by sending her to Pennsylvania, where she lives with Sherry’s sister and is enrolled in a parochial school. The sister sends her back because of her disruptive behavior—a pattern that echoes later in her daughter Dasani’s experience at the Hershey school. Chanel eventually drifts away from Sherry in favor of Joanie. This tumultuous upbringing puts her at the center of The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility. Many of Chanel’s problems arise from or are worsened by her own choices. On the other hand, the fingerprints of systemic racism are visible everywhere in her family’s history, and Elliott’s book shows how generations of disenfranchisement have left her with few good options.

In some ways, her life parallels Joanie’s. As a young woman, like her mother, she becomes infatuated with an unavailable man (Ramel). She has two children (Dasani and Avianna) with him. She also suffers from drug addiction and falls into unhousedness. Her substance abuse disorder results in periods of separation from her children. In other ways, her life parallels Dasani’s. Like Dasani, she spends time in Pennsylvania, away from her family at a private school. She becomes disruptive, possibly because her connection to her mother is too strong for her to endure the separation.

Comparing and contrasting the three figures provides a glimpse at a number of repeating patterns that make it difficult to break the cycle of poverty. Both Joanie and Chanel are drawn to drug use as a temporary escape from their desperate circumstances, only to find that addiction makes those circumstances even harder to change. As Dasani and her siblings come of age, they find their lives circumscribed by many of the same problems impeded Joanie and Chanel.

Ten years old as the story begins in 2012, Avianna is especially close to Dasani. Elliott describes her as sharing Chanel’s “portly build,” and while she lacks Dasani’s athleticism, inside the sisters “could be twins” (117). Like Dasani, her name was inspired by a brand of bottled water. They were born nine months apart, and they both share Ramel as their father.

The deep connection between Avianna and Dasani has a strong influence on Dasani’s choices. When Dasani and Chanel are absent, Avianna takes on the maternal duties that Dasani had once shouldered. Dasani and Avianna are equally protective of one another. When Avianna suffers an asthma attack at Auburn, Dasani carries her up the stairs. When Dasani is slapped by her rival Star, Avianna steps between them to prevent a fight.

Both sisters apply to Hershey, but only Dasani gets in—a circumstance that weighs heavily on the intensely loyal Dasani. The alienation they feel from each other after Dasani goes to Hershey and the children are claimed by ACS takes an enormous toll on them both. As Dasani learns to develop her own path, one of her first steps is to restore her connection with Avianna. Eventually, both sisters get tattoos of their mother’s and grandmother’s names as a symbol of their commitment to each other and their family.

Dasani’s grandmother and Chanel’s biological mother, Joanie dotes on Dasani. She passes away in 2008 from a heart condition that may have been caused by her drug use earlier in life. She was born at the hospital that later became the Auburn Shelter where Dasani and her family live. In a cruel twist, her remains also end up there when the family’s room is cleaned out and her ashes are tossed into the garbage. As a child, Joanie was known for her athleticism and for getting into fights, traits that Dasani seems to have inherited.

She stopped using drugs abruptly in response to the AIDS epidemic, according to Chanel. She eventually secured a job as a janitor cleaning a subway train. When she died, part of her pension went to Chanel. As a child, she got stuck in an elevator at Auburn for a few hours, an experience that made her claustrophobic. Dasani interprets her unwillingness to use elevators as a sign of her toughness. Chanel and Joanie can be regarded as foils for one another. They both had disruptive childhoods and fell for older and unavailable men. They both developed a drug addiction. Joanie was eventually able to give up drugs and secure permanent employment. As the book concludes, Chanel seems to be struggling to do the same, but Joanie’s story offers a glimmer of hope that Chanel may eventually be able to turn her life around as her mother did.

Khaliq, born a week before Dasani in the same hospital, is technically the oldest sibling in the family, though everyone knows that Dasani is the boss. His parents are Supreme and Supreme’s first wife. Khaliq’s is the most tragic story in Invisible Child. As a child, he was trapped with his dead mother for an uncertain amount of time. He had trouble talking and developed increasingly severe behavioral issues after ACS claimed custody of the children. At the end of the story, he seems to be on trial for murder. Both his parents believe that even if he is innocent, he will be in prison until he is in his fifties.

Khaliq can be understood as a foil for Dasani. They have similar life experiences, but their outcomes diverge sharply. They both respond to the dysfunction they experience at home and through the interventions of ACS by controlling what they can. Dasani’s tendency is to take responsibility for the people in the family. Khaliq, on the other hand, tends to focus on cleaning. This is true even in foster care, where his foster mother is impressed by his willingness to do chores at home.

Khaliq does not have Dasani’s talents. He is never described as athletic, and he struggles in school, so he never has the same opportunities. At one point he contemplates being killed in a mass murder, and he thinks about death by suicide. He dreams of joining the Navy, as his father views the military as a legal gang, but even this goal seems far-fetched.

Nana is the second child of Supreme and his first wife. She suffers from an eye condition that is gradually leading to blindness. She tends to be quiet and keep to herself, in part because of her condition. On the other hand, she and Dasani sometimes butt heads. Nana may be quiet, but she is strong-willed in her own way, and it is easy to see how she might compete with Dasani, who is more outgoing and often the center of attention. When Dasani leaves for Hershey and Chanel is prohibited from seeing the children, Nana is one of the girls to take over maternal responsibilities. She forms a deep bond with Lee-Lee, and quickly becomes jealous of Dasani when she returns for a visit and Lee-Lee shows her affection.

Elements of Nana’s story highlight some of the hypocrisy that can emerge from Agency Intervention and Surveillance. Supreme tries his best to get her enrolled in a school for visually impaired children, but she is not admitted because of a botched medical examination. Supreme sees in this a pattern of corruption, as ACS will use the failure to enroll Nana in school as evidence of neglect. Nana ends up in foster care, where she doesn’t receive medical care for a long time. Attorney Lansner points out that if Nana were still with her family, ACS would interpret such treatment as evidence of neglect.

The only boy of Chanel and Supreme, Papa is generally described as energetic, a trait that often gets him into trouble. After Dasani goes to Hershey, Papa watches a new adaptation of Annie and runs away from home. These events lead to more interventions by ACS, including getting Chanel removed from the house and eventually taking the children from Supreme. The family blames him for these interventions—unfairly, given his age at the time.

Papa’s intent is often misinterpreted, leading to negative outcomes. His experience illustrates The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility: Systemic bias limits his opportunities and leads others to perceive him as more mature (and thus more responsible for his actions) than he really is. In different circumstances, he might be seen as an energetic and curious boy who needs support to find outlets and focus, but because he is a Black boy living in poverty, he is often seen as an irredeemably troubled kid destined for problems. Even Dasani says, “He’s gonna end up in a crack house” (291). When he is evaluated after ACS takes custody, a dignified image he draws of his father Supreme is interpreted as evidence of a “psychotic process” (538).

At the end of the book, he is once again in Chanel’s custody, along with Avianna and Dasani. Of the four, his future is perhaps least certain. There is no doubt he will continue to have to confront a system that sees him in negative terms. Moreover, it’s unclear if Chanel and his siblings still unfairly blame him for the family separation.

Chanel’s stepmother, Sherry is married to Chanel’s father, Sonny Boy. For much of their life, she and Chanel’s mother Joanie are locked in a bitter rivalry. If Joanie tends to be wild, Sherry tends to be calm and churchgoing. She runs a daycare out of the home she owns. For a time, Chanel lives with Sherry and Sonny Boy, representing the possibility of a stable upbringing. Once Sonny Boy dies in a work-related accident, Chanel continues to live with her Sherry for a time, until she gravitates toward her biological mother. Eventually, Sherry and Joanie put aside their differences, especially once Joanie stops using drugs and gets a steady job. Sherry often supports Joanie financially, despite their rivalry.

For Chanel’s children, Sherry’s home is the one stable place in their lives, and the family visits regularly on the weekends. She tries to encourage Dasani by leaving college brochures in her drawer. By the end of the book, Sherry’s home has gone into foreclosure and she has been forced to move in with her sister in Pennsylvania. For someone who seemed to have her life together, this is a surprising outcome, showing how thin the line is between security and unhousedness. Sherry is fortunate to have a relative willing to take her in.

Chanel’s husband, whom she met when they were both in the shelter system, Supreme is temperamental and philosophical. He has embraced The Five-Percent Nation, a Black nationalist movement that spun off from the Nation of Islam in the 1960s. “Five-Percenters” view male practitioners as “Gods” and female practitioners as “Earths,” and they also view Black people as the first people. Supreme introduces Chanel to the movement as well. Like Chanel, Supreme has a substance abuse disorder, is frequently unhoused, and faces chronic unemployment.

Supreme is an avid reader who believes that the system is designed to disenfranchise and dehumanize Black people. Chanel often criticizes him for not doing more to financially support the family. At one point, she wonders if all his reading has made him so aware of systemic oppression that he can’t see his own agency: “He can’t function because he’s too worried about what the white man gonna do. What are you gonna do?” Chanel says, implying that Supreme has forgotten that his actions matter (269). Like Chanel, Supreme is a reflection of The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility. There are many instances in the book in which both parents make choices that are unquestionably harmful to themselves and their children, but these harms are compounded by the shamefully unsafe living conditions in the shelter system, the ham-handed interventions by ACS, and numerous other systemic failures. In the wake of several police killings of unarmed Black men, Supreme becomes obsessed with the Black Lives Matter movement. He knew Eric Garner personally and often bought cigarettes from him.

He came from a difficult background, and his adult struggles are evidence of The Lingering Effects of Childhood Poverty. His parents were addicted to heroin, and when he was a child his baby sister died from SIDS. His parents were blamed for the death, leading him to end up in the foster system and eventually in prison. His first wife, the mother of Khaliq and Nana, died unexpectedly from a heart condition. In rare moments, he is sentimental, expressing great affection for Dasani when she leaves for Hershey, for example. He has been diagnosed with a “panic and mood disorder” (489), which might account for his antisocial and temperamental nature, but it is doubtful that he has access to adequate treatment. Once Chanel is restricted from seeing the kids, Supreme tries to get access to resources, but cannot overcome all the obstacles, which leads ACS to claim the children amid accusations of parental neglect.

PROFESSIONAL FIGURES

In addition to the central family members in the book, the family interacts regularly with figures representing various organizations and interests. Key groups are described below.

Throughout the book, many attorneys come into the lives of the family members. In most boroughs of New York City, poor people have access to non-profit legal groups where attorneys are “driven by ideals more than salaries.” However, when they are in Staten Island, they only have access to court-appointed attorneys, who are “notoriously undermotivated” (358). Chanel develops a complicated relationship with her court-appointed attorney, Glenn Yost. On one hand, she respects him because he is showy and carries a concealed weapon. He served as a police officer in Brooklyn at the height of the crack epidemic. However, Yost is unwilling to sue ACS after they take custody of the children, which rankles Chanel.

Another attorney who is prominent in the book is Joshua Goldfein, who works at the Legal Aid Society, “the nation’s oldest law firm serving the poor” (271). He specializes in working with the unhoused and bringing lawsuits against the city; he spends his spare time trying to free a man he feels was wrongfully convicted of murder. Goldfein planned to bring a case about conditions at Auburn before Elliott’s stories ran, and he sets up the trust fund for the children after the story breaks. He becomes Chanel’s first legal contact, but because she wants access to the trust fund, they don’t always get along.

The final attorney of note is David Lansner, a semiretired attorney who takes Chanel’s case pro bono. Chanel describes him as “my pit[bull]” (599) because of his unwavering ability to challenge “facts” in their case and stand up to ACS. It is his approach that finally causes ACS to relent and allow Chanel to reclaim custody of Avianna and Dasani and eventually Papa.

The family’s relationship to legal counsel speaks to the many systemic obstacles they must overcome. They do not have access to quality legal representation to address their case until many years after ACS has taken the children, and even then, this representation arrives only after the family has been featured in The New York Times.

As with the attorneys, there are many caseworkers that come into the lives of the family, with varying backgrounds, motivations, and understandings of their purpose. At an early age, Dasani learns how to spot them when they come to visit the Auburn Shelter. Most of the siblings innately understand the need to be careful what they say around these caseworkers and to resist their efforts to inspect them for bruises, as anything might lead to more supervision and intervention if it can be interpreted as evidence of neglect or abuse. Many times, the caseworkers act without the consent of the parents, as when caseworkers travel to Hershey and inform Dasani of the situation at home against Chanel’s wishes. The caseworkers eventually break up the family, causing incalculable trauma in the children’s lives—evidence that Agency Intervention and Surveillance sometimes does more harm than good.

Most often, these caseworkers are unnamed, and their interactions with the family are fleeting. It is doubtful if Elliott or the family members know their names. However, there are a few of note. Marisol arrives in the family’s lives after Chanel is ordered to take a drug test by Judge Lim. Chanel and Marisol have a difficult relationship. They get into a verbal argument outside the court after Chanel’s plea to get back into her home are denied. At times, Marisol can seem cruel or at least indifferent to Chanel’s plight. When Chanel visits Marisol in her office, the caseworker cruelly tells Chanel, “At least you’re not sleeping on the ferry, right?” (425). She largely overlooks Chanel’s efforts to comply with her requests, and she reports Chanel’s verbal abuse of her without including her own role in their altercations, thus demonstrating how these organizations have the power to shape the narrative.

Linda is another caseworker of note, though she is technically not a city employee but a supervisor for the nonprofit Foundling agency. Though Chanel initially judges her as “just another white devil” (484), they eventually get along well. Though she grew up wealthy, her father was abusive and had an alcohol addiction, and she tends to be sympathetic to parents in the system, realizing that their “lapses rarely compare to those of her father,” even as they have far fewer resources (486). At one point, she travels with Chanel to Hershey to celebrate Dasani’s birthday. She eventually takes a different position, demonstrating how fleeting even positive relationships with agency representatives can be.

Many teachers and mentors enter and leave Dasani’s life, often trying to support her by giving her strategies to overcome behaviors that get her into trouble and providing opportunities to escape poverty. Though the teachers in Dasani’s life almost always have her best interests at heart, they often struggle to help Dasani address The Lingering Effects of Poverty while also acknowledging The Conflict Between Systemic Bias and Individual Responsibility.

At McKinney, Miss Hester, Dasani’s beloved and eccentric homeroom teacher, and Miss Holmes, the stern but deeply committed principal, are some of the first teachers and mentors we see. Miss Holmes is eventually responsible for getting Dasani enrolled in Hershey, while Miss Hester provides an early example of effective code-switching. Miss Hester wants her students to understand that she sees herself in them and wants them to see themselves in her (35). Miss Hester contends that Dasani is right to be angry but that the unjust conditions of her life are not an excuse to direct her anger at everyone else. She also sees clearly how her deep bond with her siblings makes her path out of poverty more difficult. Giant, an ex-convict turned local fitness legend, is another important mentor. He recognizes Dasani’s potential, especially her athletic potential, but he tends to butt heads with Dasani’s parents, limiting his effectiveness.

At Hershey, Dasani has several mentors. One explicit message she hears repeatedly is that she needs to learn to code-switch, which she regards as being fake, to succeed. An implicit message that is often repeated is that she needs to be separated from her family. The McQuiddys, her first houseparents, think of their task as teaching their children to survive even if they don’t succeed at Hershey. The Akers, her second houseparents, share similar backgrounds and can more deeply appreciate Dasani’s experiences. Dasani becomes especially close to Mr. Akers, who for a while is something of a father figure.