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SPEAKER_03: Hey, it's Jenny. We're currently gearing up for a brand new season of Womanica. Until then, we're bringing you our favorite episodes featuring villains, troublemakers, magic, and mystery in honor of October. Now, onto the episode.
SPEAKER_06: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Alessandra Tejeda, and I'm a junior producer here at WMAN, which means that I write and produce episodes for Womanica. I'm so excited to be introducing this best of episode of Womanica. Today's episode was originally part of October 2021 theme, Troublemakers. Today's troublemaker was a prominent racketeer and entrepreneur. She wasn't afraid of mob bosses or corrupt cops, and she spent her life crafting her own mythology. I love this episode because I really respect people who are very clear about who they are and what they're about. She didn't mince words. She was a very strong character and she denounced harm and violence, but she did it with flair. And she advocated for her community her entire life. Now, here's host Jenny Kaplan to talk about the numbers queen of Harlem, Stephanie St. Clair.
SPEAKER_03: Much of what we know about Stephanie St. Clair's early life is murky, and that it seems is on purpose. One story is that she was born in Guadeloupe, a series of Caribbean islands. Another is that she's originally from Martinique. Some say she was born in France. In the summer of 1911, Stephanie boarded a ship bound for Canada. She was either 13 or 23. It's not clear what Stephanie did there, but the next year, in 1912, she got on another ship. This one was going to New York City. By the mid-1920s, Stephanie had become the head of a thriving numbers business in Harlem, though yet another mystery of her life is how she made enough money to start her gambling empire in the first place. In an era when banks often denied black Americans loans, illegal lotteries were seen as an investment opportunity, as potentially fruitful and risky as playing the stock market. Here's how it worked. Every day, the New York Clearing House, which functioned as something of a central bank in the city, would release its numbers. People would place small bets on numbers between one and 999. Lottery organizers would then find the winning number based on two figures, the daily clearance among member banks and the Federal Reserve Bank credit. The next day, the game reset. New bets and a new winning number. By 1931, Stephanie was known throughout the city, famous for her fashion sense, her business savvy, and her habit of taking out ads in the New York Amsterdam News. This message ran below a full-page photo of Stephanie. To whom it may concern, I have received letters and telephone messages from men which have annoyed me very much, and I take this occasion to ask them publicly to please not annoy me. I, Mademoiselle St. Clair, am not likely to be I'm not looking for a husband or a sweetheart. If they do not stop annoying me, I shall publish their names and letters in the newspaper. Stephanie controlled the narrative, literally. She was also a staunch advocate for the black community. So when the Great Depression hit and white gangsters set their sights on black lottery bankers, Stephanie refused to back down. It was war. Dutch Schultz, a Bronx native, was a violent bootlegger with tons of connections. He was known for killing anyone who got in the way. But when Stephanie heard that he was gunning for her business, she reportedly said, I'm not afraid of Dutch Schultz or any other living man. I will kill Schultz if he sets foot in Harlem. He is a rat. The policy game is my game. Stephanie organized the other black bankers, smashing any white-owned businesses that took bets for Schultz. She took to the newspapers, too, buying ads urging folks in Harlem to bet black. Schultz retaliated by kidnapping and murdering Stephanie's men. He also put a hit on her, forcing her to go into hiding. When Schultz was ultimately shot by another gangster in 1935, Stephanie sent a signed telegram to his deathbed. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Over the next year, Stephanie, nearing 40, began to step away from her business. She turned her attention to another goal, marriage. In 1936, Stephanie entered into a marriage by contract with a man known as Bishop Amiru Amun-Munin Sufi Abdul Hamid. It wasn't a legal marriage, but the contract gave them a one-year trial period to decide whether to continue their relationship. Hamid was a local labor organizer and religious leader 10 years Stephanie's junior. He claimed he was born in the shadow of the Egyptian pyramids and often styled himself in a cape and turban. In truth, he was born Eugene Brown in Lowell, Massachusetts. The relationship didn't last long. In 1938, Stephanie fired three gunshots at her husband after catching him cheating. She grazed him and was sentenced to two years in prison. Stephanie's story goes from murky to opaque after that point. It was reported that despite rumors of poverty and mental illness, Stephanie spent the rest of her life advocating for black communities, albeit a bit more quietly. Stephanie St. Clair reportedly died in New York City in 1969. We're taking a break for the weekend, but join us again on Monday for another of our favorite episodes featuring villainy, magic, and mystery. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you on Monday.
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