June Cross

Norma Booth, an aspiring white actress, found herself pregnant with the child of James Cross, a black comedian in the early 1950’s. When the child, June, was born, Norma thought she’d be able to raise her. Once she realized the difficulties involved, she left June with Peggy and Paul, a black couple in Atlantic City, New Jersey. June was told to call them “Aunt Peggy” and “Uncle Paul.”

Norma kept in contact with June and even insisted in having a say in how she was being raised. show more When June would visit her mother, she was told to call her aunt as well. At one time her mother said to her,

"You know, if you hadn’t gotten darker as you grew older, you could have stayed with me. You wouldn’t have to live with Peggy."

June had a pleasant life with Peggy and Paul, but longed to be with her mother, even though her mother gave her mixed messages and made racist comments to her.

After having three children by three different men, Norma married Larry Storch of F-Troop fame. Larry accepted June and helped Peggy and Paul financially. When June appeared in a picture of F-Troop’s cast and family another intricate lie was made up to explain her existence as Larry’s adopted daughter.

As she grew older and became more curious, June discovered that Norma had 3 children and didn’t raise any of them. Upon further investigation, she discovered that her mother was only following a pattern that had been set by her own mother.

Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother who Gave her Away by June Cross tells June’s life story. It’s also a fascinating peek at race relations and attitudes of the 1950’s, when lighter skinned black people would try to “pass” as white. I found June’s story heartbreaking at times and really wanted to choke her mother because of her insensitivity. It seemed like all June ever wanted was love and acceptance from her mother. It was amazing that June could keep track of all the lies that were told to explain her existence. I wondered how anyone could treat a child, especially their own, with such indifference. I enjoyed this book and found myself talking about it to anyone who would listen – there’s a lot to discuss in it. show less

I liked this book a lot. It invites the reader to get beyond the quick, culture based assessments we're tempted to make about people's actions in navigating racial interactions. The "secret daughter," who authored the book makes sure issues like the times the she grew up in, the particular environment the mother and the family who adopted her grew up in, the relationship between her mother and the father are shown to contribute to why her mother made her a "secret daughter."

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did I became fully engrossed in it. By the end of the book I was in tears. It's the story of a mixed race girl struggling for an identity and love and acceptance from her biological mother. This was an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

The story of June Cross, a little girl born to a white mother and black father. June's mother dotes on her but unfortunately just before June turns 4, she's sent to live with a black family as June can no longer 'pass' as white. Although June is well looked after by Peggy and Paul, she often lacks a sense of identity. Her mother visits her and sends for her to visit her but after her mother marries, she starts introducing June as her adopted niece and asks June to stop calling her mommie. show more Peggy and Paul although the love June are also just her 'aunt and uncle.' They have diffrent views about how to raise her that her mother doesn't agree with. This continues and June seeks to find herself and identity and learn more about her family, why her mother gave her away and build relationships.
An informative read. 4/5 show less