A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League

The difficult journey from hopelessness to "hope in the unseen," to, that is, faith that a better life awaits, is an often told story. In America, we have the "Autobiography" of Benjamin Franklin; slave narratives, like Frederick Douglass's "Narrative"; poverty-to-riches fiction like Horatio Alger's; immigrant narratives, like David Eggers's "What is the What." There is more than one account of minority students and their path to the Ivy League. For a writer with this sort of "redemption" material, the difficult task is to shape a story whose ending we might guess at but whose details are so compelling that a reader can't put the book down. And this Ron Suskind has done. Because he tells Cedric Lavar Jennings's story in the voices not only of Cedric, but also of his mother, Barbara; his father, Cedric Gilliam; his classmates and teachers at Ballou High school and at Brown University; his pastor, Bishop Long; and many others, the book has a complexity that a similar story told in a single voice could not have. Suskind presents these people exactly as they are, with not only their strengths but their weaknesses in full view: Barbara's difficulties with money management; Cedric's standoffishness when his dorm mates attempt to befriend him; the father's struggle to stay off heroin.It is difficult to call this book "inspirational," as some have done. As Suskind points out, he chose to profile Cedric Jennings precisely because "the basic appeal of Cedric's story was never rooted in his exceptionalism . . .he is, in his basic makeup, so very much like countless other young people . . .". And Suskind does not spare the institutions that fail students like Cedric every day: the bleak public school where learning is almost impossible, the "sink-or-swim approach for poorly prepared minority students at places like Brown. Throughout the book, Suskind explores both the positive and negative aspects of affirmative action, letting the details of Cedric's experience make a case for it. This book is one family's experience. It does not--it cannot--encompass the experience of every inner city child who hopes for the unseen. But it does offer powerful testimony not just for broad prescriptions or programs, but for the incremental powers of love and determination. Recently on NPR, I heard a review of "A Hope in the Unseen" as one of those books not to be missed. The reviewer was right.

Suskind's non-fiction narrative of Cedric Jennings is to say the least compeling. He retells the struggle of an inner-city black young man who against all odds wants to make it out. Cedric's struggle, however, does not end with graduating with honors from High School. That event is just the tip of the iceberg. Suskind allows us to picture Cedric at Brown in the middle of yet more struggles to function and understand the complexities of a new mostly white- high middle class- always priviledged- clueless about his reality and that of others- culture. And at the same time we understand that Cedric becomes a rarity at Brown and also at home, and struggles with feelings of displacement.Yet, far beyond being a well-written and "entertaining" account (as some choose to devaluate it); it is the story of public school education in America's inner cities.Cedric Jennings is just one of many who chose the hard way out, because of, and inspite of, the surrounding sometimes unsurmountable negatives. Yet, we now that the great majority still exist who feel forced to take the easy way out and succumb to the pressures and in the end they never make it out or beyond. The most devastating truth is that there also exists an educational system incapable of providing enough hope for enough of these children to find a way out in the unseen.Thus, "A Hope in the Unseen" should not only be required reading in High School but it shoud be required in all teacher training courses. This, in the hope that future teachers might be able to turn the tide around, and provide some hope to more of our children in what is clearly unseen now.

The only way you can understand what it's like for a Black child in America is to walk in their shoes. No one wants to do that, especially when the walk is difficult and confusing. A Hope Unseen is difficult and confusing. Comprehension of WHY and HOW are questions that can't be answered for you because it's not part of your reality. Ron Suskind attempted to provide a glimpse into the world of hope unseen. The world of children born into generational poverty with no stimulus for improvement. You're predestined to become a product of your surroundings - or are you. Cedric Jennings was born to a mother who wanted more for him, as most mothers do. But Cedric's mother built a foundation of "you are better than what we live in." Cedric was smart, curious and because of his foundation, rooted in his church through his mother, he wanted more. I was encouraged by Cedric's life. I wondered about other students in those circumstances and I hurt because they learn to give up so early in their lives. We throw so many people away, but occasionally one shines enough to be lifted.

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This book was so out of my experience as a middle aged white female brought up in the middle class suburbs of a large city who became a college professor, but the human experience could connect with anybody I believe. Cedric's character development was perfect for him, but I so wanted to talk to him throughout the book.