Should Stephanie St. Clair be considered a black history figure? (Madam)
- Thread starter Blackking
- Start date
Somebody to teach your kids about? Madam Stephanie St. Clair was born of mixed French and African descent in Martinique in 1886. She was responsible for bringing Harlem the numbers racket from her homeland. She was also briefly the head of the Forty Thieves Gang, a 19th Century white gang that was even feared by the mobsters of the 20′s due to their violent reputation. She eventually went out on her own establishing Harlem’s numbers rackets along with her partner and longtime friend and confidant, Bumpy Johnson. They also resisted Mob attempts to muscle in on their racket. This resulted in a bloody war with the Bub Hewlett Gang who sought to take over their booming numbers business as well as a war with Dutch Schultz who was working for Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano. Very quickly, Madame St. Clair or Queenie as some called her, was worth close to a half million dollars and growing. She was known to be a cruel and tough businesswoman who wasn’t very friendly to many, yet she was respected and feared and loved by some whom she helped with her riches. She also complained to authorities about police shaking down her racket. She was later arrested by police on a trumped up charge and soon released. Her continued questioning of police tactics eventually led to her testimony in the early 30′s at the Seabury Commission, a commission that was investigating many claims of police corruption and harassment. She told the commission about her kickbacks to cops and eventually over a dozen were fired.
After continued Mafia pressure and living under threat of death from Dutch Schulz, she eventually had to give in to the mafia’s power play although she was still paid handsomely for it. Bumpy Johnson, would later become Luciano’s enforcer in Harlem and he always tried his best to watch out for Madame St. Clair. When Dutch Schultz lay in the hospital dying of gunshot wounds, probably ordered by Lansky and Luciano, a telegram purportedly arrived for him from Madame St. Clair. It read, “So you reap, so shall you sow”. He died shortly after. She died in 1969.
After continued Mafia pressure and living under threat of death from Dutch Schulz, she eventually had to give in to the mafia’s power play although she was still paid handsomely for it. Bumpy Johnson, would later become Luciano’s enforcer in Harlem and he always tried his best to watch out for Madame St. Clair. When Dutch Schultz lay in the hospital dying of gunshot wounds, probably ordered by Lansky and Luciano, a telegram purportedly arrived for him from Madame St. Clair. It read, “So you reap, so shall you sow”. He died shortly after. She died in 1969.
The Nigerian
The Realest Member of TheColi
She made her mark.
All Knowledge
Speak up...
Can someone explain what the 'numbers' racket is? I stay seeing this shyt in period movies and never know what the hell they're talking about. Is that shyt the hood lotto or something?
lol.
its like a ghetto lottery...... italians usually controlled it.. so it was the italian lottery.... but black people , of course, were some of the main customers so it became know as the ****** pool or ****** lottery.
but mainly the heads of the black numbers game still paid dues to Italians.. because Italians were nikkas ( for lack of better phrase) on the inside...... but were white enough on the outside - to rub elbows with politicians and police chiefs , etc... Plus they had a culture , unity and a network in Italy to rely on. + black people didn't trust one another (still recovering from slavery until the 1970's ended)
only people like bumpy johnson.... frank lucs, etc were able to cut the Italians out of drugs, gambling, and shyt like that.