This is what the internet and youtube should be about. Sharing heartfelt and truthful life stories. Thank you for this, June. Wonderful documentary that brings understanding of the reality of living in the United States during that period. I'm glad to have seen it.
I am not able to forgive, love, and accept my mother and I've been at it for years. Some stuff cuts too deep especially when the behaviors are still evident.
@@kimbrent540 forgiveness is not for them/your mother. Forgiveness is for you, so you can go on and have a bountiful life. Forgiveness is so YOU can be the mother you never had. Forgive and watch how beautiful your life becomes. Peace and God bless
I give props to the woman who raised her. She was progressive and loving. We always desire the love of our mothers whether they are Black or white, racist or not. People are still the same today.
Oh June. Thank you so much for sharing your story. As a mixed woman born in 1963 and also not raised by my white mother, you opened my heart and thoughts to places you could never imagine. Your temperance and open minded attitude are incredible. Like your Aunt, it's hard to imagine you not having anger about your situation. You are a true roll model for us all. Be blessed June and never put away that amazing smile :>) The world is a better place because you are in it.
Thank you very much for sharing your story for I too am a secret daughter... with no answers to my many questions. Your documentary offers me new ways to explain certain things... . In 49years, it is my first time hearing someone with my story. It stirred up so many emotions and feelings inside... I can only say thank you for now Ms Cross. :-) MarieLine
This mother is a piece of work - her children should cling to one another - they both share a mother and a horrible childhood given to them by this mother
As painful as some of your story may be for you, you pressed forward and told it with such calm, composure and such compassion for those around you. Thanks so much for sharing your story. What a wonderful and beautiful woman you are. DD
My sentiments, exactly.........!!! June has a beautiful soul and expresses her humanity perfectly. She has lead by example and I'm sure she is received as a 'Pillar of strength' by all affected by her story 👏👏👏👏👏
Everyone had to live their life. Love was very important. They Wound'nt had made it. Working hard to make it i can see it. Happy and sad mixed together. I can go and on.
In a perfect world, mother and daughter would have never parted. The hatred and prejudices deeply inculcated in this society like cancer have threaded its way into the fabric of America. How sad for them but in the end they have made peace with each other and learned so much. Thank you for your candid and painful but loving story.
Yes, I think that's the big deal here...How Ms. Cross is able to make Peace with her life. That's so important because she could have easily done something very different. --- In a perfect world? Well, I think that it's just like she said about her father...he was born a generation too early. I think her mother was as well. I was raised two generations after her mother. Our generation simply doesn't care. You love who you love...and you are who you are...that's it.
+Yvette B. , I noticed someone deleted our comments!!! and I bet I know who it is LOL! that's so sad !!!!! because dialogue is good!!! and how can this person be so concerned about June but another person poured out their heart and and strangely the comment was deleted! YB a I wrote something for you, but I doubt if you an opportunity to read it!
Nothing deleted from my end...thank you for the vibrant dialogue on this page! those who want to know more about how I emerged a whole, sane, human being (well, more or less) can read the book, Secret Daughter, which was published by Viking Press about ten years after I completed the documentary....it's on Amazon you can probably get a hard cover for about 95 cents! hahaha
Racism must make people blind because she looks like both parents! I don't know how they pulled of the adoption ruse. And who the hell sends a 4 year old to boarding school!!?? This story makes me angry and sad, but I can't stop watching. Thank you for sharing.
Brigette Tamara I feel the same. I keep watching although it’s sad. I’m sure that there were so many stories like this one. I have a sad story like this in my family luckily it was only the grandparents who did not want to deal with their mixed race family.
Many wealthy parents send their. Children to boarding school. It is cruel and selfish - they justify their own lazy parenting by saying it’s “the best school” or some other BS. What is really swirling throughout this story but is largely unseen because of the narrator’s (understandable) focus on her race, is the story of women. The rules are not written by or for women- and white men saw her mother as having no value once she’d been “sullied.” The fear of sexual incompetence is largely the root of why white men were and even still continue to be this way. Her mother was brought up a Mormon, rebelled, and then suffered for her rebellion. She knew the heavy price to be paid within her family, community, and class. Her decision to send her child to live a “normal” black childhood reflects that she sees her daughter as black, even though she is half quite. Is she a demonic cruel woman who abandoned her children? Or is she a wiser version now of the younger woman who was naive enough to think her family would change given the opportunity to love their own flesh - only to realize that her value as a woman was (and remains in many areas of our society) only as good as the last guy who she had sex with. This story is more than a story about race. It’s also a sorry tale of how women are only given choice when they are alone and our value is usually tied to our womb. Her mother was wrong. It’s kind of obvious she knows she was wrong. But it is also clear she loves her daughter and knew she wasn’t cut out for the social abuse she no doubt received from all those around her the moment her child was born. Young and naive no more, she at least was brave enough to give her daughter this gift - a public trial and punishment. Surely enough is enough. Our society is changing, but not so fast that I haven’t seen beloved family members suffer for loving the wrong skin color. There’s a whole generation of people who will die and take their racist ideologies with them to the grave. Some of them will also take a huge burden of regret and shake for their actions to their grave. Whenever that happens, the generation of people who attended segregated schools shouldn’t be running our country. But they are.
t knowles Sorry but race played a much bigger role in this story than gender. She gave her kid away cause she wasnt white nor could she pass for white, had she been white there wouldnt even be a documentary
And now in 2016, we are still talking about race. The same concerns in the times of James Cross are prevalent today specifically for people of color. I can't believe that I missed this when it originally aired in 1996! Great documentary!
Ms. June Cross, I watched every second of this unforgettable story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to put it together so beautifully, I was angry, I was sad, but most of all I was glad that it had such a happy ending. Watching you and your Mother walk hand in hand laughing was priceless...I can see that she truly loves you and is proud of the incredible woman you've become..Sending peace, love and endless blessings your way..☺💕
wowowowowowow!! Just learning of you and your story ~ can't wait to learn all about your story. I had a very odd mother, also married a black man, but she had already given up care of us by that time. Isn't it wonderful that we can grow beyond the constraints of our parents. Your resilience, given all that you are saying, is breath-taking!
I'm absolutely flabbergasted by your Mom's lack of character in that she cared more for herself and her reputation than she did her own child. I can't imagine the pain and rejection you must have felt at her denying you to the world. I personally think any 'friends' who would have rejected her because of 'race mixing' weren't friends worth having. This was so infuriating to hear on so many levels. God bless you for not being bitter! You're a wonder!
the lady knew that this child was being subjected to racism on both sides of the coin so she brought the child to a safe sane stable sympathetic home so her child could have the live she deserved and the nuture she deserved. As for her galf brother she found him a place to be that would also nurture & she did at a psychologically appropriate time for a child to go to boarding school. I dont understand the harshness of your tone.
You and I see this very differently, Ftmyersbeachlizard. I agree that the people her mom left her with were sane and stable and probably much better for June than if her mother had raised her because her mom lacks character. HOWEVER, I have a serious problem with WHY her mother did it. Several times it was mentioned that the driving force behind her choice was EMBARRASSMENT at having a black child!!! She was so afraid that her wealthy society/Hollywood friends would 'find out' she had a black child! This is such a schizophrenic way of behaving......she was happy to have sex and live with a black man, but horror of horrors.......the product of that union must be hidden away and denied. I have SERIOUS problems with that thinking! I'm glad she didn't abort June or hurt her physically, but the psychological damage she did will never fully go away. I think June's a marvel in how she turned out, but I don't credit her mother with that!
Ftmyersbeachlizard I'm disagree at the racism on both sides. Black people have always accepted biracial children. They accepted the rape babies during and after slavery, the accepted the babies from prostitutes and white johns, they accepted the babies from unprepared White women who could not care for biracial kids (or any other child possibly). Black families also adopted and accepted many biracial bastard children after WWII known as "brown babies". If that child was subjected to any racism it was from the white folks who failed to open their hearts and home to her.
I think it is very easy to pass judgment on a women like Norma she has very cold features and hides behind a lot bullshit to justify her decisions. But the truth is until the wheel of fortune of life lands you on the same spot you have no idea at all who or what you would be. She was unmarried with no higher education at time when even if you had one you couldn't get a job and she couldn't find a home that accepted both her and June. I too have a hard time justifying her actions for the later years saying her husband needed to work and the social aspect would effect that.. But nothing is so simple this film was made around 94. I few years before 94 I had moved to new town and I had befriended black stylish man who I would later find out was gay. A white man never asked me out from that day forward and I was ostracized in school. Things had not changed that much in society. What I find more disturbing about her is that the love a man was always more important than any of her children. That to me is the true crime I would find unforgivable . I wonder if she had just gave June up for adoption and never looked back would it have been better for her? But even that she could not do because she had already given up child a few years before June was born and I'm sure that she couldnt bare that again. She was a Selfish women that justified her actions. But I have met very few people Black white Arab Asian who dont do that to some degree or another.
Selfish woman. She was so into herselfand never really wanted to be a parent. She put Larry in foster homes and she give her daughter up to pursue a more glamorous life. But I am glad you had other people in your life that truly loved you. And it's great that you did not become a bitter person.
I think that you misinterpreted the entire program. What you described is the 'surface' of what occurred. The reality is much deeper than that. Think the story of Moses, when his mother set him afloat on the Nile in a pitch-lined basket. She set him afloat to keep him alive, and watched him grow up from afar all her life. Same with June and her mother. As June said herself, she would have been an awful mess if she had remained with her mother. As she grew older she would have become more of a threat than a 'cute little monkey'. There was a danger in that in the 1960s. Her mother made hard decisions.
Much deeper, where some do not want to or are not willing or are not ready to tread, where their unlit up truths and pains and traumas may be waiting, for love. Sad, and perfect. We all heal at our own pace. You can't rush the healing...This is a profoundly complex and interwoven tapestry of humanity and our shared losses, sadness, longing, and Hope. June Cross telling her story, sharing her authenticity is the Key for all our healing....YT4Me57 is allowing the light to respond to Weatha Morris' courageous exposure of pain, just a limited access view of their own reality...not that deeper is not there, just not being felt, yet. My guess. My experience with healing complex trauma....
Her mother looks like she has a tiny or huge box full of pain she has not yet unpacked, just like my birth mother who left when I was 5. I know that face, that frigid, careful, not-really-able-to-listen face....June is so soft, so real, so courageous, and authentic, with NOTHING to hide. Her mama is clearly doing her best to stand up for herself here, to stand up for the wounded little girl she tried to abandon within herself...That's the root of all of it...to me. What I see....
I'm very disturbed by how flippant her mother was when she said that she would have had an abortion if she had the money. I felt no emotion in her words knowing that she was speaking to her own daughter. Regardless, I guess I appreciate her honesty although I don't understand her choices. June Cross is beautiful inside and out. After watching this documentary, I am counting the hours until my seven year old comes home from school, so I can hold her tight. 💟💟
@ Lindsey R her mother was a racist. I jumped at how unemotionally she said she would have aborted her. Her mother appears cold and says the darndest things. Why would you sleep with a black man in the first place ?
I am a black man who has never experienced what you have. this video has been so much an awakening for me. very powerful and you are a beautiful person. thank you so much for sharing your story.
I appreciated the frankness and thoughtfulness of the story telling in this film. Mom wanted so much more out of life than she was born in to. She went after situations that would afford her more. Considering the times, it was hitching your tent with a man of means. She had a child out of wedlock with a man she barely knew. She spent years with a man she did not love. She comes across as cold and uncaring. However, I truly believe she had to learn to detach in order to not loose her mind. Unfortunately, even after a great change in times she is still worried about what "others" would think of her. I think her agreeing to this project and being honest is her way of apologizing for a great many things she truly did not have control over.
I can understand why her mother felt the need to keep the secret: she was a product of her time, a very RACIST time. But it's still sad that in 1994, she still valued the opinions of her "society friends" over the feelings of her own daughter.
Rachel Avery well. that depends. how old is your daughter? he did say June's mother was a PRODUCT OF HER TIME. meaning, even white folks who loved and ACCEPTED their biracial children could even loose their own lives as well as their children.
How terrible that you went through all that happened to you as a child but how absolutely WONDERFUL it is to me that you overcame it all and became the awesome person that you are today. Thank You for sharing Your Life with Us!
I love you story. Thank you for sharing. I was born in 1958 to a Black Father and Latina mother in Los Angeles.... My Mothers family disowned her when after only a few months of dating my mother was pregnant. ut two children later they accepted him because we didnt "look" black. The got married and had 9 daughters.
This true story reached into my heart and was so emotional for me.. I cried many times and I laughed too. I was sad for everyone....June, you are a daughter to be proud of and I do know that your mama loves you so much....We as a society are all so lacking in pure love....Loving one another for who we are...and that is a human being...
Throughout this film I find myself shaking my head at your mom HER truthful statements cut like a knife to a daughter, but when her eyes water up in her statement about being really hard to lose you again. its so raw (and for 3 seconds) i think about her plight and i see a glimpse of a mother. Great job on the documentary!
Wow, your story blew my mind. Some people are just chosen to be special! Beautiful spirit, and your endurance is truly graceful, and humble. God bless you.
June cross this was a very fascinating heart felt story I'm so sorry that you your brother and sister had to go through a lot of hard times and pain but through all of this you became this amazing terrific intelligent phenomenal woman and I'm so proud of you God bless you beautiful
That's rather unpleasant language Zainab. I suspect that the "mother" in this tragic drama has various emotional difficulties. Perhaps adoption was the best outcome for June. A wonderful friend of mine has adopted two wonderful children who would otherwise have probably lived in very difficult circumstances. June's Atlantic City family chose her. Adopted children are special for that reason, they are the chosen ones. The people who adopted her have turned out a wonderful, talented, highly intelligent and kind woman. Good for them. Let's celebrate adopters. They are, in the main, wonderful, generous people. I know many of them.
Life in pre-Civil Rights America was just that insane. Racism is an evil that turns the world upside down. I know several who are battling those same demons.
Gabrielle Gabbie it's the same when the dad is white as well. My dad's family still doesn't acknowledge me (Italians). My mom acts like I ruined her life. Thank God for my mom's parents!
Thank you so much for doing this interview. It had to be one of the hardest things you guys have ever done. You can see the pain, the awkwardness, (but not in a bad way) and the extreme vulnerability. Thank you, I felt the pain throughout, this was such a brave journey for all of you, thank you again!
Wow. I've never seen nor heard it explained so well as you do in this documentary. I did not realize the "box" people of colour are in, are put in and forced to stay in. This is so sad. Not just the mother daughter things, but what is done to people because of what colour they are. Here in Canada we are much more open but also much more oblivious. It seems more accepting here and in some ways it is, but my friends who are darker have experienced this in Canada also. I guess it's like the feminism thing, if you are a man you cannot know what it is to be a woman and experience that discrimination and even abuse men think is ok. Kudos to,you, well done.
this is one of the best documentary i have seen in a while, i got a great insight into what life was like for interracial families during the last century in america and how black entertainers were treated when television came along
I’m 65 and raised my two bi-racial children myself. Times were bad & it effected financial opportunities but I loved being their mother & adore my children. I understand each person must walk their own path & I don’t stand in judgement bcse I’m judged. I wish things would get better, I hold out hope. Tku for sharing your life story this had to be such a hard decision for your Mom my prayers for all of you.
I am so proud of the adversities this woman overcame. However, her mother boiled my soul. She was a poor white woman who aspired for fame, failed, then settled to be a society climber discarding children along the way. God created an unbreakable soul when He made June and her brother. I truly admire you June Cross.
Bittersweet.. I'm honored that you shared this with us. You chose understanding; and for that you found growth in the midst of what could have been a crisis. You are truly a strong woman June Cross. Keep rising Queen. Have a wonderful, peaceful, positive & productive day!
I suppose, June, longing for her mother's acceptance and love is what blinded her from seeing and feeling the absolute selfishness her birth mother displayed. I hate when people assume or displace blame to protect others. Her mom was selfish and just wasn't ready to be a mom to either child. she idolized a lifestyle and image that wouldn't allow her to love her child. you can't love me to give me away and still in your old age, not claim me. as a mother I can't respect her or her decision. but hey, I'm nobody. loved this transparency and June's willingness to share such a hard hitting tale.
You are somebody and your point is valid, I feel the same way. I've seen several white women have babies by black men and just leave them. But, nobody ever talks about that.
Her mother didn’t know how to be a mother because she really her mother wasn’t a good example. June’s mother abandoned both kids. You are right that she was chasing the silver screen dream. Her father didn’t know how to be a father to her, but fortunately for June, she got a “mother” who loved her as her very own.
This was a beautiful story. I too have a mixed race story... So many of us do, some more normal than others. It's just nice to see the representation and such a reminder of the dysfunction that pervades our story as a nation but also the resilience of individuals and the power of truth and reconciliation.
June Cross Thank you for sharing your complex, emotional story. As a bi racial black woman I think there are many of us who have complex stories about our relationships with our white families due to race.
***** That indeed is true because I have a complex relationship with both sides of my family. However, to act as if race, racism and our country's legacy regarding race doesn't impact the lives of those of us who come from mixed race families is naive at best. To respond to my comment with a dismissive one that states "well many people have complex relationships with their families" is erasure and silencing of a very real issue that is not the same and isn't what was being addressed in my comment or in this video. General family issues didn't cause June's mother to do what she did, race did.
June Cross Yes, even in my step family who are south Asian they have racism within their own family. They value lighter skin and for me growing up with very strict English manners I found it horrendous the way they spoke about each other in such negative terms. They commented on looks and had no trouble telling a child that they were not attractive. However, this was usual and quite acceptable in their culture and completely alien to me.
I would like to thank Janet Jackson! Because if I had not been looking at her Videos about her Secret Child, I would not have found this Video. Man was I blown away with this Documentary, it is RICH with History! I Love JUNE CROSS! Her will power, her insight, her humbleness, this Woman is something Special! I Love her Mom and I liked her more and more as the documentary went on. I don't know why Norma was supposed to be the so called "UGLY" duckling of the family per her Mom, I thought that Norma was beautiful. June, that end up giving you the right name. For you are all of the beautiful things that blossom in the month of June. Thank you June, you just made my day. Your not a Secret anymore June, your my bright shinning Star! And I hope that they make a Movie from this, so even more people can see the real beauty of JUNE. This Secret should go all over the world!
Wow this was an extraordinary documentary. I am so happy you were able to find peace with your Mother and get her to tell her story again. I see where she had own abandonment struggles, problems with esteem and love. Sending you with the family in Atlantic City was a gift.
This was very well done and interesting. I have no idea of how I landed here but I'm not sorry that I did. I am Danish like your mother's ancestors and live in Denmark. I didn't see a black person till I came to the US when I was 8 and honestly it was nothing I thought about until I was punched in my stomach for being white and had chocolate spit in my face for the same reason and I saw the hatred against me which was hard for me to understand. Lucky for me I had 2 good friends that didn't see my color and just liked me for who I was:) And I always find it so odd when people talk about black and white as I never ever think of myself as white. I think of myself as Danish. I think that you turned into a fine human being despite everything and I think you mom really loved you and it must have been hard for her the way things were back then. I wish you the best!!
Beautiful story! I am happy you were with a family who accepted you, happy your brother was always in your corner, happy you found a sister you didn't know you had, and very happy your mother overcame her fears.
June...I loved this documentary. You portray the lives of so many in a tragic miscarriage of society, in a very human way. Thank you for sharing this part of all the lives you have, with all of us. Bless you always.
June watching your face listening to Jerry Lewis explain stealing your daddy’s ideas and realizing what watching him get the accolades for his own ideas must have did to him and how that affected everyone in your life. I could almost not watch him speak.
This was one of the BEST documentaries that I have watched in a very long time....even my 18 yr. old daughter got wrapped into the doc. Kudos to a long lasting job well done, for many more years to come.
What a terrific documentary. So powerful, and emotionally raw. Thank you for so doggedly pursuing the barriers of race and class and how they affected everyone in your family. Credit goes to Peggy and Paul --the humble heroes in this story. It must have been hard to let you go for 3 months each year, and see you become a fictitious character, and then have you re-enter back in. 20 years after making this documentary, it still hits a nerve! Would love to see an update to this documentary.
Fascinating story. You captured and communicated the complexities of the culture and its impact on the human spirit beautifully. You told your story and the stories of your family members with compassion and sensitivity. Thank you.
Great documentary. I Missed it back in the day, my Bartending days. What a very conflicting relationship you experienced, as well as your mother. It seems this happened A lot and with many people in show business. I will treasure this story, thank you for sharing it with the world.
My great grandfather and great grandmother moved north because of this issue. He would later get fired from his job because they found out he was married to a black woman and they had children together. He would later move out in order to keep a job. They remained married until his passing.
Miss June Cross thank you for being open enough to let us see your life. I don't even know how I ended up watching your support but I'm glad I did. It's 2018 and it's horrible how things were. Wow... Thank you for sharing.
Your story is so amazing. You and your mother have no filter. I think at the time she did the best she could..Thanks for sharing.My family is interesting as well.
powerful stuff to stumble on. Your Mom appears to have a coldness in her eyes when u 2 were sitting across from each other. It's frightening to witness.
Wonderful documentary! Jerry Lewis clearly stole a great deal of your father’s routine. Your dad was clearly unsung during his career. I was prepared to completely dislike your mother. Completely prepared to dislike her. However, it appears to me that your Mother certainly did love you and she herself was seeking to be accepted. Her fear of losing what she worked so hard to finally obtain a sense of acceptance and belonging prevented her from being open and honest about who you really were. The fact that she made every effort to ensure you were with a good family and the fact that you alternated between Peggy’s and your mom’s home speaks to your mom wanting you in her life but fearing that you and her would be banished if the truth was found out. Your story is complex as well as loving in my opinion. During that time biracial black folk who could pass did pass to avoid the multitude of problems that black folk experienced during that period of time. That speaks to the complexities that exist as it relates to race, race relations and its effect on the human psyche.
I stumbled on the documentary because someone posted it in the comments section of fb. Thank you for telling your story. I'm sure doing this documentary was emotional and heart healing. Be bless.
This must be one of the best videos I've watched on TH-cam. I really admire the way this family were able to speak and heal, there is a lot for others to learn from. Brother Larry seems a great guy.
just finish watching the entire documentary of "Secret Daughter". So glad your mother was able to come out of the darkness and proclaim you as her daughter openly. During the end of the film, my heart was heavy for you for being somewhat torn between 2 worlds. I could identify with a lot of the film, because I to grew up without my biological father or no father at all for that matter. For a long time I was always searching to belong. I am so glad you found your half sister. She seems like she genuinely loves you and that you fill a void in her life. Awesome film......I would have like to have known how these events affected your love relationship. You kinda mentioned a partner at end, but did you ever have children, love relationship, etc? I wish you all the best and all the love and then some!
June, I agree, your life was a blessing in disguise, there is NO doubt about that. I love the way that you view life and understand that due to the times, people do the best that they can, given the information they have at the time. You life is a beautiful inspiration to both black and white races alike. Thank you for this story.
Thank you for being brave and inquiring and smart and loving. Thank you for showing us how to begin to heal. Openness is the star of healing and all of us have hidden wounds. God bless you and your family. I wish you more love.
Awww what a story but truly know you both triumphed and no bitterness but growth and educating others through your journey and I give you all great honor and thanks for this documentary...many lovely relatives loved your grandma in the hospital too wow she was so much fun, God Bless...you all stood up and triumphed and I give you kudos.
Hi June, I hope you are well. I've watched your documentary several times and learn something new in the discussion on race each and every time. I've also shared it with my 12 year old little one, who is nearly not so little anymore, lol! I think your discussion provides so much, in terms of plying beneath the many layered and deeply textured themes, because the film's delivery is steeped in the reflective history of entertainment. Thank you for searching so much further than "behind the scenes", but instead peering into the 'soul' of American entertainment to discover your connected self. Thus, thematically, removing the veiled anthems and cross-sections so variably entwined in the racial melting pots of America. Each time I view your story, watching the clips of captured amusement from old footage - the haloed kiss of your father many years hidden within contextual frames - I am always impressed at your ability to overcome what easily could have been anger pitted against yourself and definitely your mother. You prove that love does overcome all if we are just patient, believe and don't tear ourselves and each other down. Your mother seems to be of the same fabric. She thought through her processes and decisions in attempt to affect your life positively without destroying herself or you. Many of us don't have this ability. We are 'reactive', entrenched in the desire to be heard now! You have chosen a different path and those who can hear will listen. Thank you for taking the merits of what you learned from the two worlds you lived and bringing order, understanding and balance to your heart. I know it was not easy, but your story helps many beyond the aspects and social ills of race and color, culture and division, rejection and acceptance. Your story helps the heart in comprehending what endurance can procure, what history can amend and the heart can win. It enlightens the path of self discovery and acceptance, which is a condition we all must meet - white or black. I will watch again and again whenever the opportunity arises. Your story, though different from mine, still sheds light on degrees of understanding I fathom in my own world. Understandings such as the very real racism my child endures in a predominantly white school (community) even in this the 21st Century. Or the rejection of the people one appears most physically like, but are distinguishably unlike because of choices, opportunities and knowledge that belies an uneasy and suspicious pronouncement that "you" have rejected "them" (culturally) because of the simple embrace of oneself (multiculturalism/multi-ethnicity). The world still turns, we still have time to listen, hear and learn about ourselves - ALL of ourselves, individually and together...one insight at a time. Beautifully done, beautifully expressed! ~Nicole et Prince
June I watched your story today thinking it was just something I'd watch until I fell asleep but I never did. Your story sparked something in me that I'm not quite able to express adequately at the moment. Just a few weeks after our family reunion this year, I got a call from a "cousin" who found out one of my uncles was his dad but since they live in a fairly small town and my uncle is highly respected, he can't claim relationship. This cousin has changed his name to the family name but that is all he can claim. His phone call to me was to ask my advice about simply showing up at the next reunion and whether or not that would be appropriate or not. I see in him traces of your story and I can't help but wonder about the inexpressible feeling of not belonging you both may feel. This cousin deals with it through music, you have managed to provide insight through your gift of story. Thank you for sharing this. I'm sure there are no easy answers that everyone can agree on but as several folks have mentioned in their comments you did a great job of being objective and presenting the story as fairly as possible without excusing or accusing either parent. I guess you could've of been more angry. Perhaps it's this that surprises a lot of viewers of this documentary, "Why isn't she totally ticked off?" But if you had been, perhaps this story would not have been filmed or least would have been limited to 30-45 minutes of ranting vs. one hour and 54 minutes of rich insight and thought provoking back story that, at least for me, helped to suspend judgement and allow me an opportunity to walk in your shoes a little bit. Well done!
Very very touching story and thanks so much for sharing. Now I see that the family secrets I have recently ran across in my family is in many families. Hugs to you and your mother. So glad you two are on the same path now. Hugs.
I stumbled onto this. And I'm o glad I did! I never knew anything about Larry Storch...only F Troup.. I truly enjoyed this journey of your life and it's ups and downs. You are a Beautiful woman who went through alot back in the day...but kind of became victorious in the end! Blessings to you and your family!
I'm sorry but the Mother seemed to be a very selfish lady. Not only did she give her dsughter away, her son suffered bc of het selfishness being in and out of foster homes.
Wow what a dynamic story. Your father was so talented. And mother very perceptive and once she opened up was very honest and candid. And really and truly very warm. And I find it a blessing that you found your sister. Thanks for sharing!
Dear June' I applaud your strength and courage in pursuing the truth even when faced with obstacles. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story. Your documentary is heartfelt and its beautiful that it ends with togetherness and love. Well done!
The comments and everyone's strong thoughts we're just as interesting as this film. Thank you for sharing your story. Your brother's prospective was one I could respect. At 1:47 and your sister talks of the encounter with her Mom made me sad and angry. I guess in the end nobody can pick their family or the time period they we're born.
I am happy that you love all of your parents, including your mom. She deserves that kind of love, and so do you. There are so many things people go through in life, which in turn they give to someone else, not truly knowing how to stop. i adore you and your moms relationship now, and all the effort that you've done to share this pain, and love.
Fantastic and moving story. How much we deprive ourselves by letting fear hold us by the throat. Once we face our fears and meet them head on, we can free ourselves. I am so sorry that you were caught between the love and the prejudices that for some, still exist. The ones that put you in the middle of this went on with their lives and walked away from any problems that they had caused for you. I can see that your mother still grieves for leaving you behind. She is older now and her choices are catching up with her. God Bless you both and I hope that the Holy Spirit comforts you both in all the rest of your days.
I have no respect for a woman who gives her child away. My great grandmother was white and my great grand father was black, they kept their kids and this was in the 1920's, so no excuse, the woman that birth you was very selfish and thinking about her image only!
+Jocelyn Carter I have total respect for those who have the strength to put their child up for adoption knowing they can't give them what they deserve and need.
The difference is that your grand father did not abuse and deceit your grandmother. He understood the sacrifices she made, that she would never be able to return to the white community. Norma was left in the cold - abused by her black partner and rejected by the white community because she loved him. She had absolutely nowhere to go.
No excuse she laid down with the black man, what did she think she was going to have a little blue-eyed blonde hair girl? I still say she's selfish and was thinking about her image.✔
You are so racial and prejudicial in your thoughts. What about "the black man"? He never made any efforts to see his daughter and he did it with 2 girls (the ones we know of). Why do you prefer to ignore this?
Jerry Lewis, and host of other White entertainers, owed a real debt to the Black entertainers they were influenced by, but I wonder if these Whites ever offered those Black people any of the money that was made from their successful shows. If James Cross was such a great influence, why was he living in a cheap hotel while Jerry Lewis made millions and was regarded as so "original" in his humor? Talk, platitudes, and "tributes" are cold comfort when your creativity have been stolen from you. No wonder James Cross drank. This is what Black Americans are so angry about today.
Hi June, the thing I'm getting from your heart felt documentary is that although you missed your mother, and it was time for her to fully live you as her daughter, during the documentary, she did, at the time, love you enough to give you away. The family she gave you to was fabulous. Such a blessing for you. Count your blessings for you are there heroine of your own story. You now have more love and more people to call your family because of what your mother did.
Jax James say that again. my daughter got pregnant unexpectedly and she considered abortion. booked an appointment and didn't tell anyone though I knew she was pregnant. on the day the procedure she was about to leave and a voice just told me thats what she's about to do. I begged her not to and she changed her mind. now the baby's two now tell you what he's a blessing. he never cried like other babies do. once he's eaten you never hear him again. now she can't live without him from the day he was born. she goes to work she calls home countless times just to hear his voice. and me too every time I leave for work I feel like I'm going for every.
Jane Heimbichner the fact is she chose to give her black child away ,that is not love if she looked more white different story,she should feel ashamed of herself
June - I stumbled upon your documentary and was captivated by it. So happy that a lot of healing was created by your amazing talents. I learned a lot about the Lewis & Martin stage act too. I salute you for your drive, beauty and achievements. Really a powerful testament to your family legacy.
Wonderful piece of work!! So heartfelt... it is indeed necessary to keep the conversation going... and I want to know more about June Cross’ body of work. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thanks for posting this!
I've been thankful everyday since I saw this wonderful documentary, earlier this year! Ever since I saw this, I was amazed how amazingly talented Jimmy Cross was and how cheated he was an a legendary entertainer. When I saw the image of screaming fans over Martin and Lewis and the thought of Stump and Stumpy had nothing to show for their gifts, it broke my heart. It forever changed me.I also viewed Jerry Lewis at a completely different light (among other things I discovered on him). I know he has just passed but it does not take away what he should have done out-of-respect for Jimmy Cross. I kind of wished you gotten to interview Dean Martin too, out of pure curiousity how he would respond. I like to think he would have been more blunt and respectful compared to Jerry. But overall I enjoyed every bit of the history of the entertainment industry, your family secrets, and all those who were fully aware Jimmy Cross and Stump and Stumpy. I just wished this documentary was available on DVD, or something. I have been looking everywhere for it and it does not seem available anywhere. More people should fully be aware of this story. I know you have done the book but nothing is like seeing the people and watching the people who were there and the era from the way it was from your own eyes and ears.
Neely O-30 Thanks for reaching out! I had the same hunch about Martin as you, and tried to persuade him 3 or 4 times, but he was very sickby then/ he died before SD was released. Also I can arrange to send you a DVD for shipping costs. jcross@columbia.edu
Thanks for taking the time to reply back to me. Yes, on Martin, which I had been for a little over a year researched about him out of pure curiousity from what I gathered he was a bit different compared to Lewis. I often wondered due to his bitterness towards him (I mean 20 years of avoiding Lewis) is a long time and even after their 1976 reunion he still did not immediately rekindle their friendship. I wondered if he had internal guilt over what he and Lewis done regarding your father/Stump and Stumpy. I could go on about various things I discovered and noticed when it came to Dean Martin but I do not want to bombard you with tons of Martin stuff. But yes, I noticed once you were able to release your SD, he was either dying or died by then. I could go on about that too regarding Martin's life by then but I'll try withhold chatting too much about his life during that time. One thing I will say is by that time he just wanted to be left alone and he in fact did die alone, his daughter Deana confirmed that. Although his most well-known wife told the media she was with him when he died, he preferred to just be. One perfect example on why I get and believe what you are saying is his most famous biographer Nick Tosches wanted to interview him in 1991/1992 and tried multiple attempts but he did not want to be bothered so he had to mostly rely on Jerry Lewis (of course) and Jeanne Martin (the most famous wife of Martin's) to be his main sources. I think I'll just leave it there. For forgive me if I sound like I am gossiping. And thanks for providing me on how I can purchase your documentary. I am just glad you are willing to allow fans to purchase it because I really do want to.
Such a sad, yet loving story. You are a beautiful women for making this video. I have passed it up may times, but I am so glad that I finally saw it. May God Bless you and your family. xo
June, thank you for sharing your life with me. This is one of the most beautiful, painful, uplifting, stories I have ever heard in my life. While many people have stories of being interracial, your story had so many twist and turns that brought a perspective from many angles. Thank you, again, for sharing your and your Mom's life with me.
![Would We Be Better Off Without Religion? - Christopher Hitchens [2007] ✝️ | Intelligence Squared](/img/n.gif)
This is what the internet and youtube should be about. Sharing heartfelt and truthful life stories. Thank you for this, June. Wonderful documentary that brings understanding of the reality of living in the United States during that period. I'm glad to have seen it.
I loved the way you honored your mother and treated her with loving-kindness and forgiveness.
I am not able to forgive, love, and accept my mother and I've been at it for years. Some stuff cuts too deep especially when the behaviors are still evident.
@@kimbrent540 forgiveness is not for them/your mother. Forgiveness is for you, so you can go on and have a bountiful life. Forgiveness is so YOU can be the mother you never had. Forgive and watch how beautiful your life becomes. Peace and God bless
At what point are women like that educated to stop being selfish.
I give props to the woman who raised her. She was progressive and loving. We always desire the love of our mothers whether they are Black or white, racist or not. People are still the same today.
Oh June. Thank you so much for sharing your story. As a mixed woman born in 1963 and also not raised by my white mother, you opened my heart and thoughts to places you could never imagine. Your temperance and open minded attitude are incredible. Like your Aunt, it's hard to imagine you not having anger about your situation. You are a true roll model for us all. Be blessed June and never put away that amazing smile :>) The world is a better place because you are in it.
Remarkable! Thank you, June! I think my favorite part is when you find the tape of your dad kissing you! So beautiful!
Thank you very much for sharing your story for I too am a secret daughter... with no answers to my many questions. Your documentary offers me new ways to explain certain things... . In 49years, it is my first time hearing someone with my story. It stirred up so many emotions and feelings inside... I can only say thank you for now Ms Cross.
:-)
MarieLine
Marie Line
What a wonderful film! Thought-provoking and very brave of you and your family!
Yesssssssssssssssss, thank you!
This mother is a piece of work - her children should cling to one another - they both share a mother and a horrible childhood given to them by this mother
As painful as some of your story may be for you, you pressed forward and told it with such calm, composure and such compassion for those around you. Thanks so much for sharing your story. What a wonderful and beautiful woman you are. DD
My sentiments, exactly.........!!! June has a beautiful soul and expresses her humanity perfectly. She has lead by example and I'm sure she is received as a 'Pillar of strength' by all affected by her story 👏👏👏👏👏
Very much so. Thanks for expressing my thoughts on this beautifully told story.
ft t yt?
Everyone had to live their life. Love was very important. They Wound'nt had made it. Working hard to make it i can see it. Happy and sad mixed together. I can go and on.
Yes she belong in new york she's part of histoy. Good learning the real truth about her family. Ghost story to me.
In a perfect world, mother and daughter would have never parted. The hatred and prejudices deeply inculcated in this society like cancer have threaded its way into the fabric of America. How sad for them but in the end they have made peace with each other and learned so much. Thank you for your candid and painful but loving story.
I concur!
Yes, I think that's the big deal here...How Ms. Cross is able to make Peace with her life. That's so important because she could have easily done something very different. --- In a perfect world? Well, I think that it's just like she said about her father...he was born a generation too early. I think her mother was as well. I was raised two generations after her mother. Our generation simply doesn't care. You love who you love...and you are who you are...that's it.
Amen
+Yvette B. , I noticed someone deleted our comments!!! and I bet I know who it is LOL! that's so sad !!!!! because dialogue is good!!! and how can this person be so concerned about June but another person poured out their heart and and strangely the comment was deleted! YB a I wrote something for you, but I doubt if you an opportunity to read it!
Nothing deleted from my end...thank you for the vibrant dialogue on this page! those who want to know more about how I emerged a whole, sane, human being (well, more or less) can read the book, Secret Daughter, which was published by Viking Press about ten years after I completed the documentary....it's on Amazon you can probably get a hard cover for about 95 cents! hahaha
Racism must make people blind because she looks like both parents! I don't know how they pulled of the adoption ruse. And who the hell sends a 4 year old to boarding school!!?? This story makes me angry and sad, but I can't stop watching. Thank you for sharing.
Brigette Tamara
I feel the same. I keep watching although it’s sad. I’m sure that there were so many stories like this one. I have a sad story like this in my family luckily it was only the grandparents who did not want to deal with their mixed race family.
Many wealthy parents send their. Children to boarding school. It is cruel and selfish - they justify their own lazy parenting by saying it’s “the best school” or some other BS.
What is really swirling throughout this story but is largely unseen because of the narrator’s (understandable) focus on her race, is the story of women. The rules are not written by or for women- and white men saw her mother as having no value once she’d been “sullied.” The fear of sexual incompetence is largely the root of why white men were and even still continue to be this way.
Her mother was brought up a Mormon, rebelled, and then suffered for her rebellion. She knew the heavy price to be paid within her family, community, and class.
Her decision to send her child to live a “normal” black childhood reflects that she sees her daughter as black, even though she is half quite.
Is she a demonic cruel woman who abandoned her children? Or is she a wiser version now of the younger woman who was naive enough to think her family would change given the opportunity to love their own flesh - only to realize that her value as a woman was (and remains in many areas of our society) only as good as the last guy who she had sex with.
This story is more than a story about race. It’s also a sorry tale of how women are only given choice when they are alone and our value is usually tied to our womb.
Her mother was wrong. It’s kind of obvious she knows she was wrong. But it is also clear she loves her daughter and knew she wasn’t cut out for the social abuse she no doubt received from all those around her the moment her child was born. Young and naive no more, she at least was brave enough to give her daughter this gift - a public trial and punishment. Surely enough is enough.
Our society is changing, but not so fast that I haven’t seen beloved family members suffer for loving the wrong skin color. There’s a whole generation of people who will die and take their racist ideologies with them to the grave. Some of them will also take a huge burden of regret and shake for their actions to their grave.
Whenever that happens, the generation of people who attended segregated schools shouldn’t be running our country. But they are.
t knowles
Sorry but race played a much bigger role in this story than gender. She gave her kid away cause she wasnt white nor could she pass for white, had she been white there wouldnt even be a documentary
And now in 2016, we are still talking about race. The same concerns in the times of James Cross are prevalent today specifically for people of color. I can't believe that I missed this when it originally aired in 1996! Great documentary!
msjsaw2u ya know? Except black ppl now allowed to be on tv!
Right! Blessings!!!!!
msjsaw2u " Race" , was a safer subject from 2000 to 2007, it surely seems!
msjsaw2u still talking here in 2018..smh...peace to us all
Ms. June Cross, I watched every second of this unforgettable story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to put it together so beautifully, I was angry, I was sad, but most of all I was glad that it had such a happy ending. Watching you and your Mother walk hand in hand laughing was priceless...I can see that she truly loves you and is proud of the incredible woman you've become..Sending peace, love and endless blessings your way..☺💕
wowowowowowow!! Just learning of you and your story ~ can't wait to learn all about your story. I had a very odd mother, also married a black man, but she had already given up care of us by that time. Isn't it wonderful that we can grow beyond the constraints of our parents. Your resilience, given all that you are saying, is breath-taking!
I'm absolutely flabbergasted by your Mom's lack of character in that she cared more for herself and her reputation than she did her own child. I can't imagine the pain and rejection you must have felt at her denying you to the world. I personally think any 'friends' who would have rejected her because of 'race mixing' weren't friends worth having. This was so infuriating to hear on so many levels. God bless you for not being bitter! You're a wonder!
the lady knew that this child was being subjected to racism on both sides of the coin so she brought the child to a safe sane stable sympathetic home so her child could have the live she deserved and the nuture she deserved. As for her galf brother she found him a place to be that would also nurture & she did at a psychologically appropriate time for a child to go to boarding school.
I dont understand the harshness of your tone.
You and I see this very differently, Ftmyersbeachlizard. I agree that the people her mom left her with were sane and stable and probably much better for June than if her mother had raised her because her mom lacks character. HOWEVER, I have a serious problem with WHY her mother did it. Several times it was mentioned that the driving force behind her choice was EMBARRASSMENT at having a black child!!! She was so afraid that her wealthy society/Hollywood friends would 'find out' she had a black child! This is such a schizophrenic way of behaving......she was happy to have sex and live with a black man, but horror of horrors.......the product of that union must be hidden away and denied. I have SERIOUS problems with that thinking! I'm glad she didn't abort June or hurt her physically, but the psychological damage she did will never fully go away. I think June's a marvel in how she turned out, but I don't credit her mother with that!
Ftmyersbeachlizard I'm disagree at the racism on both sides. Black people have always accepted biracial children. They accepted the rape babies during and after slavery, the accepted the babies from prostitutes and white johns, they accepted the babies from unprepared White women who could not care for biracial kids (or any other child possibly). Black families also adopted and accepted many biracial bastard children after WWII known as "brown babies". If that child was subjected to any racism it was from the white folks who failed to open their hearts and home to her.
I think it is very easy to pass judgment on a women like Norma she has very cold features and hides behind a lot bullshit to justify her decisions. But the truth is until the wheel of fortune of life lands you on the same spot you have no idea at all who or what you would be. She was unmarried with no higher education at time when even if you had one you couldn't get a job and she couldn't find a home that accepted both her and June. I too have a hard time justifying her actions for the later years saying her husband needed to work and the social aspect would effect that.. But nothing is so simple this film was made around 94. I few years before 94 I had moved to new town and I had befriended black stylish man who I would later find out was gay. A white man never asked me out from that day forward and I was ostracized in school. Things had not changed that much in society. What I find more disturbing about her is that the love a man was always more important than any of her children. That to me is the true crime I would find unforgivable . I wonder if she had just gave June up for adoption and never looked back would it have been better for her? But even that she could not do because she had already given up child a few years before June was born and I'm sure that she couldnt bare that again. She was a Selfish women that justified her actions. But I have met very few people Black white Arab Asian who dont do that to some degree or another.
l
Selfish woman. She was so into herselfand never really wanted to be a parent. She put Larry in foster homes and she give her daughter up to pursue a more glamorous life. But I am glad you had other people in your life that truly loved you. And it's great that you did not become a bitter person.
I think that you misinterpreted the entire program. What you described is the 'surface' of what occurred. The reality is much deeper than that. Think the story of Moses, when his mother set him afloat on the Nile in a pitch-lined basket. She set him afloat to keep him alive, and watched him grow up from afar all her life. Same with June and her mother. As June said herself, she would have been an awful mess if she had remained with her mother. As she grew older she would have become more of a threat than a 'cute little monkey'. There was a danger in that in the 1960s. Her mother made hard decisions.
Much deeper, where some do not want to or are not willing or are not ready to tread, where their unlit up truths and pains and traumas may be waiting, for love. Sad, and perfect. We all heal at our own pace. You can't rush the healing...This is a profoundly complex and interwoven tapestry of humanity and our shared losses, sadness, longing, and Hope. June Cross telling her story, sharing her authenticity is the Key for all our healing....YT4Me57 is allowing the light to respond to Weatha Morris' courageous exposure of pain, just a limited access view of their own reality...not that deeper is not there, just not being felt, yet. My guess. My experience with healing complex trauma....
Her mother looks like she has a tiny or huge box full of pain she has not yet unpacked, just like my birth mother who left when I was 5. I know that face, that frigid, careful, not-really-able-to-listen face....June is so soft, so real, so courageous, and authentic, with NOTHING to hide. Her mama is clearly doing her best to stand up for herself here, to stand up for the wounded little girl she tried to abandon within herself...That's the root of all of it...to me. What I see....
Weatha Morris iiii
Weatha Morris j)8ij
I'm very disturbed by how flippant her mother was when she said that she would have had an abortion if she had the money. I felt no emotion in her words knowing that she was speaking to her own daughter. Regardless, I guess I appreciate her honesty although I don't understand her choices. June Cross is beautiful inside and out. After watching this documentary, I am counting the hours until my seven year old comes home from school, so I can hold her tight. 💟💟
June's biological mother doesn't seen "the full quid" to me - bit simple and quite selfish. Very odd.
@ Lindsey R her mother was a racist. I jumped at how unemotionally she said she would have aborted her. Her mother appears cold and says the darndest things. Why would you sleep with a black man in the first place ?
Common problem today still that black men are fetishized and then the mother tunes out with the human she doesn't really want.
I am a black man who has never experienced what you have. this video has been so much an awakening for me. very powerful and you are a beautiful person. thank you so much for sharing your story.
Well done. Painful but very brave of you to make this journey.
ohsnapiam59 loo
ohsnapiam59
and if she wants to forgive her mother that's her right
I appreciated the frankness and thoughtfulness of the story telling in this film. Mom wanted so much more out of life than she was born in to. She went after situations that would afford her more. Considering the times, it was hitching your tent with a man of means. She had a child out of wedlock with a man she barely knew. She spent years with a man she did not love. She comes across as cold and uncaring. However, I truly believe she had to learn to detach in order to not loose her mind. Unfortunately, even after a great change in times she is still worried about what "others" would think of her. I think her agreeing to this project and being honest is her way of apologizing for a great many things she truly did not have control over.
You sound like a very gracious and wise lady. God bless you
I can understand why her mother felt the need to keep the secret: she was a product of her time, a very RACIST time. But it's still sad that in 1994, she still valued the opinions of her "society friends" over the feelings of her own daughter.
FOR REAL!!! my children are the only people that I care what they think of me!!!!
+Nell Russell my daugther mixed with black and white some native roots. her grandfather is native american but never hiden from world.
Maurice Rivers
Rachel Avery well. that depends. how old is your daughter? he did say June's mother was a PRODUCT OF HER TIME. meaning, even white folks who loved and ACCEPTED their biracial children could even loose their own lives as well as their children.
Maurice Rivers old habits die hard
How terrible that you went through all that happened to you as a child but how absolutely WONDERFUL it is to me that you overcame it all and became the awesome person that you are today. Thank You for sharing Your Life with Us!
You are a wonderful Lady June Cross.....
June Cross is a beautiful lady, inside and out.
I love you story. Thank you for sharing. I was born in 1958 to a Black Father and Latina mother in Los Angeles.... My Mothers family disowned her when after only a few months of dating my mother was pregnant. ut two children later they accepted him because we didnt "look" black. The got married and had 9 daughters.
Smh
I'm glad Larry and his family didn't turned their backs on her.
Your Aunt Peggy was such a wonderful and sweet woman
This true story reached into my heart and was so emotional for me.. I cried many times and I laughed too. I was sad for everyone....June, you are a daughter to be proud of and I do know that your mama loves you so much....We as a society are all so lacking in pure love....Loving one another for who we are...and that is a human being...
ditto I couldn't have said it better myself, some of the negativity on here leaves me smh
i came across this fascinating and amazing
Throughout this film I find myself shaking my head at your mom HER truthful statements cut like a knife to a daughter, but when her eyes water up in her statement about being really hard to lose you again. its so raw (and for 3 seconds) i think about her plight and i see a glimpse of a mother. Great job on the documentary!
she felt more ignorant and cold then racist, like she had no maternal instincts...But who knows in that era
ReturnoftheBrotha I believe it but she also put her white child in a boarding school at 4! Complex story!
laura hoshaw n
laura hoshaw I think she realized she gave her up in vain.
Wow, your story blew my mind. Some people are just chosen to be special! Beautiful spirit, and your endurance is truly graceful, and humble. God bless you.
There's lot to learn from this documentary
Loreal Kitenge we already learned it now it's time to move on
June cross this was a very fascinating heart felt story I'm so sorry that you your brother and sister had to go through a lot of hard times and pain but through all of this you became this amazing terrific intelligent phenomenal woman and I'm so proud of you God bless you beautiful
Lynelle Murray ii
Lynelle Murray m
That's rather unpleasant language Zainab. I suspect that the "mother" in this tragic drama has various emotional difficulties. Perhaps adoption was the best outcome for June. A wonderful friend of mine has adopted two wonderful children who would otherwise have probably lived in very difficult circumstances. June's Atlantic City family chose her. Adopted children are special for that reason, they are the chosen ones. The people who adopted her have turned out a wonderful, talented, highly intelligent and kind woman. Good for them. Let's celebrate adopters. They are, in the main, wonderful, generous people. I know many of them.
It's sad for her mother to care more about her status than her own daughter.
Christy Love or the brother
Life in pre-Civil Rights America was just that insane. Racism is an evil that turns the world upside down. I know several who are battling those same demons.
Christy Love or son. Typical white folks but, the majority of us won’t admit it.
Gabrielle Gabbie it's the same when the dad is white as well. My dad's family still doesn't acknowledge me (Italians). My mom acts like I ruined her life. Thank God for my mom's parents!
Christy Love it's as if her daughter was an after thought. Sad.
Thank you so much for doing this interview. It had to be one of the hardest things you guys have ever done. You can see the pain, the awkwardness, (but not in a bad way) and the extreme vulnerability. Thank you, I felt the pain throughout, this was such a brave journey for all of you, thank you again!
Wow. I've never seen nor heard it explained so well as you do in this documentary. I did not realize the "box" people of colour are in, are put in and forced to stay in. This is so sad. Not just the mother daughter things, but what is done to people because of what colour they are. Here in Canada we are much more open but also much more oblivious. It seems more accepting here and in some ways it is, but my friends who are darker have experienced this in Canada also. I guess it's like the feminism thing, if you are a man you cannot know what it is to be a woman and experience that discrimination and even abuse men think is ok. Kudos to,you, well done.
Your voice and narrative are both compelling and beautiful!! Thank you for sharing your story...
this is one of the best documentary i have seen in a while, i got a great insight into what life was like for interracial families during the last century in america and how black entertainers were treated when television came along
I’m 65 and raised my two bi-racial children myself. Times were bad & it effected financial opportunities but I loved being their mother & adore my children. I understand each person must walk their own path & I don’t stand in judgement bcse I’m judged. I wish things would get better, I hold out hope. Tku for sharing your life story this had to be such a hard decision for your Mom my prayers for all of you.
Forgot to say I’m white
Good job
I am so proud of the adversities this woman overcame. However, her mother boiled my soul. She was a poor white woman who aspired for fame, failed, then settled to be a society climber discarding children along the way. God created an unbreakable soul when He made June and her brother. I truly admire you June Cross.
Bittersweet.. I'm honored that you shared this with us. You chose understanding; and for that you found growth in the midst of what could have been a crisis. You are truly a strong woman June Cross. Keep rising Queen. Have a wonderful, peaceful, positive & productive day!
You told your story with grace, dignity, and pride. Thank you for sharing.
I suppose, June, longing for her mother's acceptance and love is what blinded her from seeing and feeling the absolute selfishness her birth mother displayed. I hate when people assume or displace blame to protect others. Her mom was selfish and just wasn't ready to be a mom to either child. she idolized a lifestyle and image that wouldn't allow her to love her child. you can't love me to give me away and still in your old age, not claim me. as a mother I can't respect her or her decision. but hey, I'm nobody. loved this transparency and June's willingness to share such a hard hitting tale.
You are somebody and your point is valid, I feel the same way. I've seen several white women have babies by black men and just leave them. But, nobody ever talks about that.
Her mother didn’t know how to be a mother because she really her mother wasn’t a good example. June’s mother abandoned both kids. You are right that she was chasing the silver screen dream.
Her father didn’t know how to be a father to her, but fortunately for June, she got a “mother” who loved her as her very own.
chamich vee Absolute how I see it, her mom was selfish, she dint give that baby up for the baby she gave her up for her to have her own life.
Absolutely
This was a beautiful story. I too have a mixed race story... So many of us do, some more normal than others. It's just nice to see the representation and such a reminder of the dysfunction that pervades our story as a nation but also the resilience of individuals and the power of truth and reconciliation.
This comment just saved me a bucket of tears, thank you so much!!!
Li(+_+)s Lyn
This is one of the best documentaries I have seen yet.
Thank you, for sharing your story June.
What a positive daughter. Lucky mother. Happy End. Thanks for sharing.
Loved your documentary. In deed you grew up to be a strong and intelligent woman with amazing talent. God Bless.
I like Larry Storch.
I fit in fine, thank you. No confusion here. But thanks for caring.
June Cross Thank you for sharing your complex, emotional story. As a bi racial black woman I think there are many of us who have complex stories about our relationships with our white families due to race.
True dat, nvsbl2!
***** That indeed is true because I have a complex relationship with both sides of my family. However, to act as if race, racism and our country's legacy regarding race doesn't impact the lives of those of us who come from mixed race families is naive at best.
To respond to my comment with a dismissive one that states "well many people have complex relationships with their families" is erasure and silencing of a very real issue that is not the same and isn't what was being addressed in my comment or in this video.
General family issues didn't cause June's mother to do what she did, race did.
June Cross Yes, even in my step family who are south Asian they have racism within their own family. They value lighter skin and for me growing up with very strict English manners I found it horrendous the way they spoke about each other in such negative terms. They commented on looks and had no trouble telling a child that they were not attractive. However, this was usual and quite acceptable in their culture and completely alien to me.
+Rebecca van der veen I haven't but will seek it out.
I would like to thank Janet Jackson! Because if I had not been looking at her Videos about her Secret Child, I would not have found this Video.
Man was I blown away with this Documentary, it is RICH with History! I Love JUNE CROSS! Her will power, her insight, her humbleness, this Woman is something Special!
I Love her Mom and I liked her more and more as the documentary went on. I don't know why Norma was supposed to be the so called "UGLY" duckling of the family per her Mom, I thought that Norma was beautiful.
June, that end up giving you the right name. For you are all of the beautiful things that blossom in the month of June. Thank you June, you just made my day. Your not a Secret anymore June, your my bright shinning Star! And I hope that they make a Movie
from this, so even more people can see the real beauty of JUNE. This Secret should go
all over the world!
Donald I agree!!!! I want to meet June
Donald I agree!!!! I want to meet June
I liked your post until you praised the mother.
Wow this was an extraordinary documentary. I am so happy you were able to find peace with your Mother and get her to tell her story again. I see where she had own abandonment struggles, problems with esteem and love. Sending you with the family in Atlantic City was a gift.
This was very well done and interesting. I have no idea of how I landed here but I'm not sorry that I did. I am Danish like your mother's ancestors and live in Denmark. I didn't see a black person till I came to the US when I was 8 and honestly it was nothing I thought about until I was punched in my stomach for being white and had chocolate spit in my face for the same reason and I saw the hatred against me which was hard for me to understand. Lucky for me I had 2 good friends that didn't see my color and just liked me for who I was:) And I always find it so odd when people talk about black and white as I never ever think of myself as white. I think of myself as Danish. I think that you turned into a fine human being despite everything and I think you mom really loved you and it must have been hard for her the way things were back then. I wish you the best!!
Thank you for making this film. I send you blessings and love.
Beautiful story! I am happy you were with a family who accepted you, happy your brother was always in your corner, happy you found a sister you didn't know you had, and very happy your mother overcame her fears.
June...I loved this documentary. You portray the lives of so many in a tragic miscarriage of society, in a very human way. Thank you for sharing this part of all the lives you have, with all of us. Bless you always.
Every once and a while I come back to watch this documentary. I just love it!
I COMMEND YOUR STEPFATHER HE DIDN'T HESITATE TO SAY YOU WERE HIS DAUGHTER
Robin Wilson A REAL MAN!!!!
Yes...Mr.Storch was a good person.
June watching your face listening to Jerry Lewis explain stealing your daddy’s ideas and realizing what watching him get the accolades for his own ideas must have did to him and how that affected everyone in your life. I could almost not watch him speak.
I was deeply moved by this film. June, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story....
This was one of the BEST documentaries that I have watched in a very long time....even my 18 yr. old daughter got wrapped into the doc. Kudos to a long lasting job well done, for many more years to come.
what an amazing story of love, fear and acceptance. forgiveness is the key for healing. bless you all and hope for a continued happy story....
Extraordinary! Beautiful, heart wrenching, historical, riveting. Painful to watch at times. Thank you for sharing your family story.
What a terrific documentary. So powerful, and emotionally raw. Thank you for so doggedly pursuing the barriers of race and class and how they affected everyone in your family. Credit goes to Peggy and Paul --the humble heroes in this story. It must have been hard to let you go for 3 months each year, and see you become a fictitious character, and then have you re-enter back in. 20 years after making this documentary, it still hits a nerve! Would love to see an update to this documentary.
Fascinating story. You captured and communicated the complexities of the culture and its impact on the human spirit beautifully. You told your story and the stories of your family members with compassion and sensitivity. Thank you.
Great documentary. I Missed it back in the day, my Bartending days. What a very conflicting relationship you experienced, as well as your mother. It seems this happened A lot and with many people in show business. I will treasure this story, thank you for sharing it with the world.
My great grandfather and great grandmother moved north because of this issue. He would later get fired from his job because they found out he was married to a black woman and they had children together. He would later move out in order to keep a job. They remained married until his passing.
Miss June Cross thank you for being open enough to let us see your life. I don't even know how I ended up watching your support but I'm glad I did. It's 2018 and it's horrible how things were. Wow... Thank you for sharing.
I found your documentary inspiring. Honest and courageous. Thank you.
Your story is so amazing. You and your mother have no filter. I think at the time she did the best she could..Thanks for sharing.My family is interesting as well.
powerful stuff to stumble on. Your Mom appears to have a coldness in her eyes when u 2 were sitting across from each other. It's frightening to witness.
+anna belle this response!
Wonderful documentary! Jerry Lewis clearly stole a great deal of your father’s routine. Your dad was clearly unsung during his career. I was prepared to completely dislike your mother. Completely prepared to dislike her. However, it appears to me that your Mother certainly did love you and she herself was seeking to be accepted. Her fear of losing what she worked so hard to finally obtain a sense of acceptance and belonging prevented her from being open and honest about who you really were. The fact that she made every effort to ensure you were with a good family and the fact that you alternated between Peggy’s and your mom’s home speaks to your mom wanting you in her life but fearing that you and her would be banished if the truth was found out. Your story is complex as well as loving in my opinion. During that time biracial black folk who could pass did pass to avoid the multitude of problems that black folk experienced during that period of time. That speaks to the complexities that exist as it relates to race, race relations and its effect on the human psyche.
I stumbled on the documentary because someone posted it in the comments section of fb. Thank you for telling your story. I'm sure doing this documentary was emotional and heart healing. Be bless.
This must be one of the best videos I've watched on TH-cam. I really admire the way this family were able to speak and heal, there is a lot for others to learn from. Brother Larry seems a great guy.
just finish watching the entire documentary of "Secret Daughter". So glad your mother was able to come out of the darkness and proclaim you as her daughter openly. During the end of the film, my heart was heavy for you for being somewhat torn between 2 worlds. I could identify with a lot of the film, because I to grew up without my biological father or no father at all for that matter. For a long time I was always searching to belong. I am so glad you found your half sister. She seems like she genuinely loves you and that you fill a void in her life. Awesome film......I would have like to have known how these events affected your love relationship. You kinda mentioned a partner at end, but did you ever have children, love relationship, etc? I wish you all the best and all the love and then some!
June, I agree, your life was a blessing in disguise, there is NO doubt about that. I love the way that you view life and understand that due to the times, people do the best that they can, given the information they have at the time. You life is a beautiful inspiration to both black and white races alike. Thank you for this story.
Thank you for being brave and inquiring and smart and loving. Thank you for showing us how to begin to heal. Openness is the star of healing and all of us have hidden wounds. God bless you and your family. I wish you more love.
Awww what a story but truly know you both triumphed and no bitterness but growth and educating others through your journey and I give you all great honor and thanks for this documentary...many lovely relatives loved your grandma in the hospital too wow she was so much fun, God Bless...you all stood up and triumphed and I give you kudos.
Hi June, I hope you are well. I've watched your documentary several times and learn something new in the discussion on race each and every time. I've also shared it with my 12 year old little one, who is nearly not so little anymore, lol! I think your discussion provides so much, in terms of plying beneath the many layered and deeply textured themes, because the film's delivery is steeped in the reflective history of entertainment. Thank you for searching so much further than "behind the scenes", but instead peering into the 'soul' of American entertainment to discover your connected self. Thus, thematically, removing the veiled anthems and cross-sections so variably entwined in the racial melting pots of America.
Each time I view your story, watching the clips of captured amusement from old footage - the haloed kiss of your father many years hidden within contextual frames - I am always impressed at your ability to overcome what easily could have been anger pitted against yourself and definitely your mother. You prove that love does overcome all if we are just patient, believe and don't tear ourselves and each other down. Your mother seems to be of the same fabric. She thought through her processes and decisions in attempt to affect your life positively without destroying herself or you. Many of us don't have this ability. We are 'reactive', entrenched in the desire to be heard now! You have chosen a different path and those who can hear will listen.
Thank you for taking the merits of what you learned from the two worlds you lived and bringing order, understanding and balance to your heart. I know it was not easy, but your story helps many beyond the aspects and social ills of race and color, culture and division, rejection and acceptance. Your story helps the heart in comprehending what endurance can procure, what history can amend and the heart can win. It enlightens the path of self discovery and acceptance, which is a condition we all must meet - white or black.
I will watch again and again whenever the opportunity arises. Your story, though different from mine, still sheds light on degrees of understanding I fathom in my own world. Understandings such as the very real racism my child endures in a predominantly white school (community) even in this the 21st Century. Or the rejection of the people one appears most physically like, but are distinguishably unlike because of choices, opportunities and knowledge that belies an uneasy and suspicious pronouncement that "you" have rejected "them" (culturally) because of the simple embrace of oneself (multiculturalism/multi-ethnicity). The world still turns, we still have time to listen, hear and learn about ourselves - ALL of ourselves, individually and together...one insight at a time. Beautifully done, beautifully expressed!
~Nicole et Prince
June I watched your story today thinking it was just something I'd watch until I fell asleep but I never did. Your story sparked something in me that I'm not quite able to express adequately at the moment. Just a few weeks after our family reunion this year, I got a call from a "cousin" who found out one of my uncles was his dad but since they live in a fairly small town and my uncle is highly respected, he can't claim relationship. This cousin has changed his name to the family name but that is all he can claim. His phone call to me was to ask my advice about simply showing up at the next reunion and whether or not that would be appropriate or not. I see in him traces of your story and I can't help but wonder about the inexpressible feeling of not belonging you both may feel. This cousin deals with it through music, you have managed to provide insight through your gift of story. Thank you for sharing this. I'm sure there are no easy answers that everyone can agree on but as several folks have mentioned in their comments you did a great job of being objective and presenting the story as fairly as possible without excusing or accusing either parent. I guess you could've of been more angry. Perhaps it's this that surprises a lot of viewers of this documentary, "Why isn't she totally ticked off?" But if you had been, perhaps this story would not have been filmed or least would have been limited to 30-45 minutes of ranting vs. one hour and 54 minutes of rich insight and thought provoking back story that, at least for me, helped to suspend judgement and allow me an opportunity to walk in your shoes a little bit. Well done!
Very very touching story and thanks so much for sharing. Now I see that the family secrets I have recently ran across in my family is in many families. Hugs to you and your mother. So glad you two are on the same path now. Hugs.
I stumbled onto this. And I'm o glad I did! I never knew anything about Larry Storch...only F Troup..
I truly enjoyed this journey of your life and it's ups and downs. You are a Beautiful woman who went through alot back in the day...but kind of became victorious in the end!
Blessings to you and your family!
I'm sorry but the Mother seemed to be a very selfish lady. Not only did she give her dsughter away, her son suffered bc of het selfishness being in and out of foster homes.
44:25 - 45:50, were Jerry Lewis admits to stealing their style and act.
but he calls it being influenced by greatness and called it his own. SMH
My goodness. His response was soo pathetic!
Kay Durrant really? Is that all you got out pf this beautiful story?....smh
She probably got more out of the story, but she was only commenting on that one section. She referenced the time frame she was referring to.
Kay Durrant they always do that..
He is a POS
Wow what a dynamic story. Your father was so talented. And mother very perceptive and once she opened up was very honest and candid. And really and truly very warm. And I find it a blessing that you found your sister. Thanks for sharing!
Dear June' I applaud your strength and courage in pursuing the truth even when faced with obstacles. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story. Your documentary is heartfelt and its beautiful that it ends with togetherness and love. Well done!
The comments and everyone's strong thoughts we're just as interesting as this film. Thank you for sharing your story. Your brother's prospective was one I could respect. At 1:47 and your sister talks of the encounter with her Mom made me sad and angry. I guess in the end nobody can pick their family or the time period they we're born.
Seriously awesome video. It really touched my heart. Much love to you beautiful lady 💕 💞💕💖💞💞💙💜💜💙💞💞💕💖
What a powerful film! Very informative. June, you're an amazing woman. So much to learn in your documentary.
Love your story. This was so great. All this awesome REAL history. Thank you for sharing.
I am happy that you love all of your parents, including your mom. She deserves that kind of love, and so do you. There are so many things people go through in life, which in turn they give to someone else, not truly knowing how to stop. i adore you and your moms relationship now, and all the effort that you've done to share this pain, and love.
Fantastic and moving story. How much we deprive ourselves by letting fear hold us by the throat. Once we face our fears and meet them head on, we can free ourselves. I am so sorry that you were caught between the love and the prejudices that for some, still exist. The ones that put you in the middle of this went on with their lives and walked away from any problems that they had caused for you. I can see that your mother still grieves for leaving you behind. She is older now and her choices are catching up with her. God Bless you both and I hope that the Holy Spirit comforts you both in all the rest of your days.
I have no respect for a woman who gives her child away. My great grandmother was white and my great grand father was black, they kept their kids and this was in the 1920's, so no excuse, the woman that birth you was very selfish and thinking about her image only!
+Jocelyn Carter I have total respect for those who have the strength to put their child up for adoption knowing they can't give them what they deserve and need.
The difference is that your grand father did not abuse and deceit your grandmother. He understood the sacrifices she made, that she would never be able to return to the white community. Norma was left in the cold - abused by her black partner and rejected by the white community because she loved him. She had absolutely nowhere to go.
No excuse she laid down with the black man, what did she think she was going to have a little blue-eyed blonde hair girl? I still say she's selfish and was thinking about her image.✔
You are so racial and prejudicial in your thoughts. What about "the black man"? He never made any efforts to see his daughter and he did it with 2 girls (the ones we know of). Why do you prefer to ignore this?
Wonderfully pieced together fabric of a family quilt. Thank you for this intimate work.
Beautiful. Sad and beautiful and redemptive. Thank you for sharing your story.
Jerry Lewis, and host of other White entertainers, owed a real debt to the Black entertainers they were influenced by, but I wonder if these Whites ever offered those Black people any of the money that was made from their successful shows. If James Cross was such a great influence, why was he living in a cheap hotel while Jerry Lewis made millions and was regarded as so "original" in his humor? Talk, platitudes, and "tributes" are cold comfort when your creativity have been stolen from you. No wonder James Cross drank. This is what Black Americans are so angry about today.
E Mack jerry Lewis was prejudice
Yes say THAT
Palinae Mycenia THEY OWE US🤦♀️👹
i agree, it's total bullshit.
Not whites fault that blacks aren't as good at business
Hi June, the thing I'm getting from your heart felt documentary is that although you missed your mother, and it was time for her to fully live you as her daughter, during the documentary, she did, at the time, love you enough to give you away. The family she gave you to was fabulous. Such a blessing for you. Count your blessings for you are there heroine of your own story. You now have more love and more people to call your family because of what your mother did.
She only gave her away because she couldn't afford an abortion! Love had nothing to do with it,
Jane Heimbichner
Jax James say that again. my daughter got pregnant unexpectedly and she considered abortion. booked an appointment and didn't tell anyone though I knew she was pregnant. on the day the procedure she was about to leave and a voice just told me thats what she's about to do. I begged her not to and she changed her mind. now the baby's two now tell you what he's a blessing. he never cried like other babies do. once he's eaten you never hear him again. now she can't live without him from the day he was born. she goes to work she calls home countless times just to hear his voice. and me too every time I leave for work I feel like I'm going for every.
awe bless your family he is a little blessing :)
Jane Heimbichner the fact is she chose to give her black child away ,that is not love if she looked more white different story,she should feel ashamed of herself
June - I stumbled upon your documentary and was captivated by it. So happy that a lot of healing was created by your amazing talents. I learned a lot about the Lewis & Martin stage act too. I salute you for your drive, beauty and achievements. Really a powerful testament to your family legacy.
Wonderful piece of work!! So heartfelt... it is indeed necessary to keep the conversation going... and I want to know more about June Cross’ body of work. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Thanks for posting this!
You are a beautiful woman Miss Cross and this is such a great documentary. I have tears in my eyes but am glad you are doing good now.
I've been thankful everyday since I saw this wonderful documentary, earlier this year! Ever since I saw this, I was amazed how amazingly talented Jimmy Cross was and how cheated he was an a legendary entertainer. When I saw the image of screaming fans over Martin and Lewis and the thought of Stump and Stumpy had nothing to show for their gifts, it broke my heart. It forever changed me.I also viewed Jerry Lewis at a completely different light (among other things I discovered on him). I know he has just passed but it does not take away what he should have done out-of-respect for Jimmy Cross. I kind of wished you gotten to interview Dean Martin too, out of pure curiousity how he would respond. I like to think he would have been more blunt and respectful compared to Jerry. But overall I enjoyed every bit of the history of the entertainment industry, your family secrets, and all those who were fully aware Jimmy Cross and Stump and Stumpy. I just wished this documentary was available on DVD, or something. I have been looking everywhere for it and it does not seem available anywhere. More people should fully be aware of this story. I know you have done the book but nothing is like seeing the people and watching the people who were there and the era from the way it was from your own eyes and ears.
Neely O-30 Thanks for reaching out! I had the same hunch about Martin as you, and tried to persuade him 3 or 4 times, but he was very sickby then/ he died before SD was released.
Also I can arrange to send you a DVD for shipping costs. jcross@columbia.edu
Thanks for taking the time to reply back to me. Yes, on Martin, which I had been for a little over a year researched about him out of pure curiousity from what I gathered he was a bit different compared to Lewis. I often wondered due to his bitterness towards him (I mean 20 years of avoiding Lewis) is a long time and even after their 1976 reunion he still did not immediately rekindle their friendship. I wondered if he had internal guilt over what he and Lewis done regarding your father/Stump and Stumpy. I could go on about various things I discovered and noticed when it came to Dean Martin but I do not want to bombard you with tons of Martin stuff. But yes, I noticed once you were able to release your SD, he was either dying or died by then. I could go on about that too regarding Martin's life by then but I'll try withhold chatting too much about his life during that time. One thing I will say is by that time he just wanted to be left alone and he in fact did die alone, his daughter Deana confirmed that. Although his most well-known wife told the media she was with him when he died, he preferred to just be. One perfect example on why I get and believe what you are saying is his most famous biographer Nick Tosches wanted to interview him in 1991/1992 and tried multiple attempts but he did not want to be bothered so he had to mostly rely on Jerry Lewis (of course) and Jeanne Martin (the most famous wife of Martin's) to be his main sources. I think I'll just leave it there. For forgive me if I sound like I am gossiping. And thanks for providing me on how I can purchase your documentary. I am just glad you are willing to allow fans to purchase it because I really do want to.
Such a sad, yet loving story. You are a beautiful women for making this video. I have passed it up may times, but I am so glad that I finally saw it. May God Bless you and your family. xo
June, thank you for sharing your life with me. This is one of the most beautiful, painful, uplifting, stories I have ever heard in my life. While many people have stories of being interracial, your story had so many twist and turns that brought a perspective from many angles. Thank you, again, for sharing your and your Mom's life with me.