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

by Andrea Elliott

For these are all our children. We will all profit from, or pay for, what they become. —James Baldwin

But what if the threat continues, day after day? Poor children tend to live with chronic stress. They have greater exposure to violence, hunger, sleep deprivation, and illness. A child like Dasani can get stuck in “fight or flight” mode, leading to an overproduction of cortisol and a surge in blood sugar. This can make her resistant to insulin, causing diabetes or obesity. It can accelerate atherosclerosis, the heart disease that killed Dasani’s grandmother at age fifty-four. And it can leave lasting “wear and tear” effects on a growing brain. When poor children fall behind in school, with low test scores or behavioral setbacks, they are presumed to lack character, or to suffer from “bad genes.” A new frontier of research, known as the “neuroscience of poverty,” tells another story.

Success, according to Duckworth, hinges not solely on talent or IQ but also on “grit,” which she defines as the “passion” for a goal combined with the “perseverance” to meet that goal. Absent the passion, perseverance wanes. Absent perseverance, passion is fleeting. When a person possesses both attributes, long-term goals can be met.

“You’ve got two strikes against you already,” the aide continues. “You’re a male and you’re Black. Are you kidding me? Doors ain’t just gonna magically open for you. You’ve gotta make them shits open.” Curtains are now drawn around the crazy woman, who is still wailing. “It’s all about choices,” the aide says. “That’s what I keep saying. We all have choices.”