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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What the Eyes Don’t See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Environmental Injustice
Truth vs. Corruption
Community Values and Collective Duty
The American Dream
Family, Tradition, and Strength
Summary
Analysis
After sleeping soundly for several hours, Mona woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and went downstairs with her phone and her laptop. She felt something new stirring inside of her—her despair was being erased by a feeling of strength and surety. She had finally remembered that this fight was never about her: it was about the children of Flint, her beloved patients. The war of numbers and data she was fighting was about real people—real children who couldn’t speak up for themselves. Mona realized that the negligent state experts were the incompetent ones, and she got to work on her “next move.”
Even in the depths of her despair, Mona was able to find solace by turning to the stories of her very real, very vulnerable patients. This illustrates that for Mona, the work of exposing the water crisis was always about protecting her community and acting on behalf of those who couldn’t speak up for themselves.
Themes
Bolstered by words of support from her mother and her husband, and once again confident in the worth of her data, Mona got to work looking at the state’s counterattack. It consisted of a flimsy, basic tally sheet of the total numbers of children in Flint zip codes with elevated lead levels. The state’s numbers were almost comically unscientific.
After drawing strength from her family’s words, Mona was able to refocus the situation in her head and look at it clearly, rather than allowing herself to become distracted and overwhelmed by self-doubt.
Themes
Mona had a sudden flash of inspiration: she knew that if she and Jenny could find a way to use geographic information systems software (GIS) to clearly define the neighborhoods in the city where the water was piped in, their study would be airtight. She wanted to create maps of Flint, like John Snow created maps of his London neighborhood, to prove that the children in neighborhoods that received Flint water did indeed have higher blood-lead levels. Mona emailed a friend, Rick Sadler (a nutrition geographer at MSU), for help using the latest GIS software.
Mona looked to the stories of her heroes, too, to find the strength and resources to carry on with her fight. Just as John Snow took action on behalf of his community when no one else would step up to fight, Mona knew she had to innovate and get ahead in order to make real change in the city of Flint.
Themes
Even though the state showed no signs of backing down in the days that followed, the mayor’s office did issue a “lead advisory” the Friday after Mona’s press conference. Meanwhile, Rick’s software helped Jenny and Mona create even more new findings using precise mapping technology. Now, they could pinpoint lead hotspots in certain neighborhoods. Two journalists from the Detroit Free Press lambasted the state for trying to discredit Mona and her team—and for being so inattentive for so long to the very real problems plaguing Flint.
As Mona and her team held fast to the truths they’d uncovered, small things began to change. The state wasn’t admitting its role in the crisis—or even really acknowledging that there was one—but certain people and institutions, inspired by Mona’s team’s dedication, were starting to put pressure on the government to answer for its actions.
Themes
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Meanwhile, Mona’s team got to work trying to sort through the logistics of getting bottled water and filters to the families of Flint. Mona knew that there is no magical remedy or easy fix to lead contamination—the treatment is prevention. Even though early trauma and toxic stresses impact children’s development, Mona knew that there were interventions known to mitigate the effects of toxic stress. It was time for the science of child development to “lead the way” in Flint’s recovery. Mona and her team began making a list of demands on behalf of Flint’s kids, who deserved all the help they could get and more.
There was still a long road ahead for the citizens of Flint. Decades of neglect and environmental racism needed to be addressed and remedied. But the fight didn’t seem impossible to Mona—she felt empowered by the things she knew about Flint’s history and its needs. She refused to waver in her sense of duty to her community.
Themes
Mona knew that she had an opportunity to make her case “loudly and clearly and scarily” again and again in the press. It wasn’t the time for her to be calm and comforting, the way most doctors are—it was her job to expose just how bad things were in Flint, and exactly who was responsible for these “entirely preventable” tragedies. In daily interviews—sometimes more than one—Mona hammered home that there was no cure for lead poisoning. Even though the machinery of the state continued its work to discredit her, Mona remembered the legacy of Alice Hamilton and wore the state’s insults like “badge[s] of honors.”
By committing to airing the truth in an unabashed way, Mona was echoing her family’s long legacy of action in the name of social justice. The power of the truth, Mona’s family’s legacy had taught her, was undeniable—and her public health heroes’ stories had only embedded that narrative more deeply within her. Mona’s commitment to being “loud” and “scary” when it came to the truth, she knew, was the only way to expose and fight corruption at the highest levels of government.
Themes
Mona and her team were horrified by the state’s resistance to their research—but they remained dedicated to their own work and continued making a list of programs that could help Flint’s kids: school health initiatives, early literacy programs, and funding for nutrition and transportation services. Mona and her team waited for someone at the state or county level to announce that they were sending in relief—but when none came, they realized that for the state to do so would be to admit blame.
This passage underscores the true casualties of corruption. Individuals suffer longer when corrupt organizations refuse to admit to any wrongdoing. By speaking the truth as loudly and frequently as she could, Mona was working to expedite aid for the people of Flint—but she knew that until the state folded, no help would arrive. Again, the state was prioritizing its own image over the vulnerable citizens of Flint.
Themes
For now, it was Mona and her team trying to figure out how to navigate a large-scale health crisis. In spite of all the work they had to do to get supplies to Flint families and establish prevention measures, Mona and her team never lost sight of their main goal: to get Flint’s water source switched back to Detroit.
Mona and her team’s commitment to their community illustrates the need for individuals to act in solidarity when the government institutions charged with caring for citizens abandon their duty.
Themes
