Gambling, Illegal

Illegal, but socially accepted, betting on games in urban African American communities, particularly in the early and mid-1900s.

Before the twentieth century, gambling was a common form of entertainment in many communities across America, among African Americans as well as other groups. Although often opposed because it ran counter to religious beliefs or ideals of propriety, it nevertheless took place, sometimes behind closed doors and sometimes openly, depending on community mores and laws.

From the 1910s until the 1940s, the numbers game, also known as the policy lottery, was the most widespread form of illegal gambling in African American communities, and it was particularly popular in Harlem and other urban areas. Players won by correctly guessing a number, determined either at random or by combining a series of numbers from newspapers' financial reports.

As with today's state-run lotteries, “the numbers” were easy and inexpensive to play and allowed people to dream a little about what they would do with their winnings. White organized crime groups generally expressed little interest in the numbers games in African American communities, assuming that profits would be too small. Thus, African Americans often ran the games and served as operators, runners, collectors, and gunmen hired for protection.

Both middle-class and low-income African Americans gambled, some just for entertainment, others with the hope of escaping poverty. Many people played every day, betting small amounts on “lucky” numbers. They played openly in African American neighborhoods with little fear of arrest. Generally, operators paid bribes to police and politicians so they could conduct their business without interference.

One factor that contributed to gambling in the African American community was racism, which limited the number and kinds of occupations open to African Americans in urban areas. Running an illegal gambling operation was one way for an African American “entrepreneur” to make good money. In the 1970s, however, illegal gambling operations as a route to economic success in African American communities began to be eclipsed by the drug trade, which is far more lucrative than gambling but also does far more damage to the community.