She had gone from poverty to the pinnacle of success. She then began to live out her dreams in Dallas of a better home and life when she married celebrity superstar football player Nate Newton. But she became the first in her family to graduate from college and moved out of poverty. Raised near New Orleans as one of six children, Dorothy Newton was surrounded by abuse and poverty as she grew up. Silent Cry is a testament to Dorothy’s strength, will to live, and the peace that comes with hope in the God who sees and hears your tears-even when no one else does. Happy March, Dakota! Thanks for continuing to teach me things.Dorothy Newton was married to Dallas Cowboy football star Nate Newton, who abused and threatened her until Dorothy found refuge through a relationship with Christ. And although it’s the case–even more so with the Supreme Court about to make history–that our relationship is recognized by family, community, and nation, to not respect all the feelings one’s child may encounter in becoming her own person is to do an injustice to all the things that make our gay household loving and tight-knit in the first place. Still, tracing one’s family history, even in a gay family context, includes at least partial discussion of blood line. My motherly response: I’d rather you have my sense of humor than my nose. It’s never determined in any real way how we relate to each other on a day to day basis.ĭuring our London trip, however, as I became obsessed with the image of my grandfather and bonded with my cousins on family matters, Dakota expressed disappointment that she’d never have the “Newton look” or possess that particular connection to me that comes with genetics. This has always been part of our family’s reality but only in a cursory way. There are blood lines traced through the birth parent. There’s the occasional curiosity about the donor. It’s a given that in any gay or otherwise blended family, DNA is often secondary to the filial bond. I won’t go into the many, many ways this young woman is extraordinary (bias be damned!), but I will say that our most recent “deep conversation” made me rethink genetics and family history. (Our theme song: “One of your own five kinds, stick to your own five kinds.”) Her racial background: Black, White, Native American, Vietnamese, and Chinese. More questions, plus the continued search for answers….ĭue to popular demand (and her personal request), we have a late-March 2013 Mulatto of the Month: my daughter, Dakota Billops-Breaux. Why was my mother his favorite? What drove him to drink? What was the nature of his relationship with Mary Dawson, his wife? What are the other parts of his legacy? Clear signs of “Newton” and traits I’ve inherited. I couldn’t stop staring at the picture when I saw it. My mother was the only one among his wife and five kids who wasn’t subject to frequent, physical outbursts. I don’t know anything about my great-grandfather or where in India he came from, but I now know my brothers and I are one-eighth Indian (!). He died from too much drinking, not heart disease, and it was his swollen liver my mother saw.My time in London has unearthed several facts: I only heard about him in stories, and knew (as mentioned in a previous Cinemulatto post) that my mother had spoken about his swollen heart as witnessed on his deathbed. This beginning is my mother’s father, Lawrence Nathaniel Newton. Not only is the search for Dorothy Newton continuing, but now there’s a beginning to the story. I’m also visiting relatives on my mother’s side I haven’t seen in 23 years, plus new ones I’ve never met. Cinemulatto is in London this week with her family, mostly showing her teen daughter touristy things and eating at places like Nando’s.
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