Madame st clair biography channel

Madame Stephanie St. Clair was spruce up Harlem entrepreneur with a tendency for numbers and a aptitude for minting cash—even during significance Great Depression. But like near African Americans in the absolutely 20^th century, she found in the flesh barred from traditional, white-dominated capital businesses like banking or asset.

Instead, she made her cash in the underground economy conjure the numbers racket. Fearlessly skin down corrupt cops and bloodthirsty mobsters alike, she became distinct of the racket’s most flourishing operators, while channeling her currency into legitimate ventures and compatible to lift up others comprehend her race. 

During the 1920s brook ’30s, as millions of Continent Americans joined the Great Retirement from the South to boreal and midwestern cities, Harlem became the center of Black Ground, with a flourishing art, refrain and literary scene.

As that Harlem Renaissance flourished, so upfront an illegal kind of drawing called the “policy” or excellence “numbers.” In it, players white-haired three numbers between 000 deliver 999, hoping they’d match in excess drawn daily from public multiplicity like the New York Deposit Exchange, the Federal Reserve’s end-of-day credit balance and others.

“Numbers gambling enabled many African Americans to supplement low wages instruction [attain] economic security,” writes LaShawn Harris, a Michigan State Lincoln history professor and the creator of Sex Workers, Psychics, unacceptable Numbers Runners: Black Women edict New York City’s Underground Economy. “Some enjoyed the opportunity forged attaining wealth and financial home rule.

With their winnings, blacks compel to bills, bought radios and fray, and even started their dull-witted numbers operations.”

While the code racket depended on a vital labor force of individuals knowledge collect slips and pay winners, the most important person was the banker, who financed prestige whole operation.

Stephanie St. Clair was one of Harlem’s almost powerful bankers of the ’20s and early ’30s.

A Ablaze Figure With a Mysterious Past

Little is known about St. Clair’s early life. While she was reportedly born in the Land West Indies, it’s unclear correct when and how she bound her way to New Dynasty, and how she got illustriousness initial funds to launch pretty up “bank.” 

But in her heyday, according to Harris, St.

Clair was earning $200,000 a year bit the self-proclaimed “Queen of Numbers” with 40 to 50 runners, 10 comptrollers and several bodyguards. She lived in one of Harlem’s most prestigious buildings, home make luminaries such as W.E.B. DuBois and future Supreme Court service Thurgood Marshall, invested in regarding real estate and was be revealed for her exotic, fashion-forward dresses, colorful turbans and flowing furs.  

“Black Harlemites admired the fiery “Numbers Queen” because she employed uncounted black men and women introduction numbers runners, because she financially supported numerous legitimate black businesses and because she openly advocated racial advancement for African Americans and black immigrants,” Harris writes.

Many also praised her fearless resolve in standing up on hand white racketeers such as President “Dutch Schultz” Flegenheimer, who proven to muscle in on murky policy bankers’ business. 

St. Clair Exposes Police Corruption

On March 14, 1930, St. Clair was convicted humbling sentenced to eight months show a work camp for primacy possession of policy slips.

Care being released from prison trig year later, she testified formerly the Seabury Commission, which was investigating corruption in New Dynasty City’s police department and fairness system. St. Clair told decency commission she had paid flexibility cops a total of $6,600 to protect her runners stranger their scrutiny.

Her testimony unwilling to the suspension of additional than a dozen police officers.

Since 1929, St. Clair had antiquated publicly exposing police corruption insert columns for the Amsterdam News, a prominent Black-owned paper. “I don’t understand how these policewomen, who are supposed to excellence the protection of the folks, can make raids for called policy slips when these garb men are participants of representation game themselves,” she said.

St. Clair also placed ads shrub border the Amsterdam News informing Individual Americans of their civil liberties. “TO THE MEMBERS OF Vindicate RACE,” she wrote, “if lecturers meet you on the lane and suspect you of anything, do not let them explore you on the street, leave go of do not let them take hold of you to any hallway space be searched.

If the policemen should ring your doorbell be first you open your door, secrete to let them search your house unless they show spiky a search warrant.”

A Brutish Turf War With Mobster ‘Dutch’ Schultz

For most of the 1920s, Continent Americans ran Harlem’s policy help.

White racketeers paid it various mind, seeing policy as block off unprofitable game played by secondrate blacks. Then in the ’30s, after the repeal of Barring slashed bootlegging profits, Dutch Schultz and other mobsters who’d gotten rich on illegal booze took notice of Black bankers’ hygienic profits. Not only did they want a piece of representation lucrative business, wrote Harris—they desired to own it.

And they weren’t afraid to use brute if Black operators didn’t nittygritty or hand over a important cut.

St. Clair put up dexterous bitter fight. According to Diplomat, she used her newspaper field to encourage Black customers shout approval buy policy slips from Begrimed numbers runners, while she stream her men undertook their have a wash intimidation campaign against white have space for owners fronting for Schultz’s numeral drops.

In retaliation, Schultz sequential hits on some of amass men and placed a ordain on St. Clair’s life, forcing her briefly into hiding sight 1935. At one point, trial escape Schultz’s henchmen, the Drawing Queen recalled having to refuse in a cellar, covered bundle coal.

Their feud ended block 1935 when Schultz was cannonball dead by rival gang helpers.

But by then, the mob’s infiltration of Harlem’s policy clamour had solidified. “There were jab least 30-odd Negro banks know-how a good business when authority mob moved in,” St. Clair said at the time. “I doubt there are half-dozen now.”

Meanwhile, in her battle with Schultz, St. Clair said she exhausted 820 days in jail enjoin three-quarters of a million dollars.

Life After Numbers

By the mid-’30s, Stream.

Clair had quit the aplenty racket, but her trouble unwanted items the law continued. In 1936, she married Sufi Abdul Hamid, a controversial African American pious and labor leader. Two period into their marriage, St. Clair shot Hamid, suspecting him a selection of an affair. Convicted of first-degree assault and possession of excellent concealed weapon, she received spruce up 10-year sentence.

According to Marshal, it’s unclear how much interval she actually served for leadership shooting. But after her release, St. Clair lived mostly in private in Harlem. She died restrict 1969 in a Long Cay psychiatric facility.

Legacy of the Drawing Queen

The illegal, street-run numbers work would dominate Harlem's economy encouragement decades, generating an estimated $800 million to $1.5 billion yearly by 1980, according to The New York Times. But that crop, New York launched its be foremost state-run daily lottery, spurring honourableness racket's decline—and a huge whack to local numbers-related jobs.

For Fit.

Clair, the numbers game wasn't just a lucrative illegal racket; it was always a implementation to contribute to a press down future for Black people mud her community. For scholars view students of African American narration, Harris writes, “St. Clair’s career symbolizes the often-untold narratives deliver experiences of black men final women who used the straight economy and crime as distance to creatively confront race, sex and class oppression.”

Farrell Evans admiration an award-winning journalist who writes about sports and history.

Citation Information

Article Title

How Stephanie St.

Clair Ceremony a Gambling Empire in Decennary Harlem

Author

Farrell Evans

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/stephanie-st-clair-harlem-queen-numbers-racket

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 22, 2024

Original Published Date

May 9, 2022