Clair was one of the only women involved. Clair used the underground economy in Harlem to address race politics.Īt this time, the numbers game in Harlem was male-dominated and St. It was also a predominantly Black industry which allowed many bankers to have a sense of urgency that would not be possible in white-dominated fields. Policy banking wasn't technically legal, but it was one of the few options offered to black Harlem residents who wished to invest their money. Many banks at this time would not accept black customers, so they were not able to invest legally. Clair was involved in policy banking, which was a mixture of investing, gambling, and playing the lottery. As a result of her success running one of the leading numbers games in the city, she became known throughout Manhattan as "Queenie", but Harlem residents referred to her as "Madame St. For months afterwards, she employed her own men, bribed policemen, and on April 12, 1917, invested $10,000 of her own money in a clandestine lottery game in Harlem.
STEPHANIE SINCLAIR LIGHTSMITH CRACKED
Ed tried to strangle her and she pushed him away with such force that he cracked his skull against a table and died. Clair, Queen of Harlem).Īfter a few months, she had made $30,000 and told Ed she wanted to leave him and start her own business. Clair's early life is derived from a biographical novel, Madame St-Clair, Reine de Harlem, by Martinican author Raphaël Confiant (available in English translation as Madam St. After four months, she decided to start her own business, selling controlled drugs with the help of her new boyfriend, Ed. In Harlem she fell in love with a small-time crook, Duke, who soon tried to prostitute her but was shot in a fight between gangs.
She used the long voyage and subsequent quarantine to learn English. She immigrated to the United States from Montreal, arriving in New York in 1912. She managed to save some money and, after the death of her mother, finally left Guadeloupe for Montreal, likely coming as part of the 1910-1911 Caribbean Domestic Scheme, which brought domestic workers to Quebec. Clair turned 15, her mother became very ill and she had to leave school. Clair's 1924 Declaration of Intention, she gave Moule Grandterre, French West Indies (present-day Guadeloupe, West Indies) as her place of birth, not Martinique as has usually been cited. Clair was born of African descent in the West Indies to a single mother, Félicienne, who worked hard to send her daughter to school. Clair" and "Queen of the Policy Rackets". Her nicknames included: "Queenie," "Madame Queen," "Madame St. She ran a successful numbers game in Harlem and was an activist for the black community. Clair resisted the Mafia's interests for several years after Prohibition ended she became a local legend for her public denunciations of corrupt police and for resisting Mafia control. Clair (Decemin Guadaloupe West Indies (French Caribbean) – December 1969) was a prominent black woman of African descent and racketeer who ran numerous enterprises in Harlem, New York, in the early 20th century.
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