Updated 03/17/2023 at 10:27 a.m. ET:
The hit show Godfather of Harlem chronicles the real story of New York City crime boss Bumpy Johnson. But, did you know that Bumpy was not always the boss in Harlem? That would be Stephanie St. Clair, who Bumpy worked for as an enforcer for years.
Here are some interesting facts on the legendary number queen of Harlem.
While she went on to rule Harlem during the early 20th century, St. Clair was born in the West Indies, in a place currently called Guadeloupe. She was born on December 24, 1897.
When St. Clair’s mother died while she was still a teenager, she saved money and moved to Montreal.
Similar to Bumpy Johnson, St. Clair didn’t move to Harlem until 1912. When she first moved there, she fell in love with a local criminal by the name of Duke. After he was murdered by a rival gang, she started to sell drugs with help of her new boyfriend Ed. But, after working together for a while, Stephanie wanted to start a business of her own, which Ed did not want.
As the story goes, he tried to choke St. Clair but when she pushed him off of her he fell and cracked his skull, resulting in his death.
After going into business on her own, St. Clair led one of the best numbers games in the city. A numbers game is essentially a type of illegal gambling or lottery. She was one of the only women involved in the illegal industry and gave jobs to many people in Harlem. During the 1920s, it was estimated that she made over $20,000 a year, which is equivalent to almost $300,000 today. Pretty good money.
Throughout her tenure as a crime boss in Harlem, St. Clair had many names she went by including, “Madame Queen,” “Queenie,” and “Madame St. Clair.”
As seen by many of the pictures in this slideshow, St. Clair was always stylish, often wearing unique dresses with a turban wrapped around her head.
While she was a crime boss, St. Clair did not stay in the shadows. She was very outspoken on topics she was passionate about, such as immigrant rights and police brutality. She would often advocate for these issues to the local newspaper.
St. Clair employed Bumpy Johnson as her enforcer, who eventually became a crime boss of his own in the 1930s and 1940s.
Stephanie St. Clair was not afraid of anybody. She would take out newspaper ads to address her enemies.
Dutch Schultz was a mob boss in the Bronx who killed those who would not pay him for protection, especially those involved in the numbers game after the end of prohibition. St. Clair was one of those who didn’t pay, and with the help of Bumpy, she would attack and destroy businesses owned by Schultz. Their conflict led to more than 40 people dying and a plethora of people who were kidnapped.
St. Clair eventually got married to Sufi Abdul Hamid in the 1930s. He was known as the “Black Hitler” because he was anti-Semitic. But, that did not seem to matter much to Madame St. Clair.
St. Clair shot Hamid after she found out he was cheating with Fu Futtam, who was known as a Black fortune teller. The two eventually split and Hamid married Futtam, whose real name was Dorothy Matthews. Hamid eventually died in an airplane crash in 1938.
After she served time in prison for shooting her then-husband, St. Clair put the criminal lifestyle behind her and became a legitimate businesswoman.
The legendary numbers queen died at the age of 72 in December 1969 just days before her birthday. It’s unclear exactly what her cause of death was.
