“Queenie’s” Harlem⠀ ⠀ 🎬 Cinematic Photography by @BlaiseArnold ⠀ Queenie : @The_Angelique_Noire⠀ Silky Bo : @Gui_bo⠀ ⠀ 🎬 I’m still the Queen of Harlem, but I got Dutch Schultz tryna snuff me out. I may be tough, but it sure doesn’t hurt to have fine A🍑🍑 Silky Bo lookin after me. I see how his blue eyes be lookin’ at me when he thinks I ain’t payin’ attention. He’s the only one I can trust when Bumpy’s not around... (Queenie 💭)⠀ ⠀ 🎬 I’ve gotta stand behind her, but what a view. Hell...I’m ready to die for her... (Silky Bo 💭)⠀ ⠀ _________________________________________⠀ The History of “Queenie” :⠀ ⠀ Have you heard of Stephanie St. Clair? She was also known as “Queenie”, “Madame Queen”, “Madame St. Clair” and “Queen of the Policy Rackets". ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ▶️ Madame St. Clair was involved in policy banking, which was a mixture of investing, gambling, and playing the lottery. Many banks at the time would not accept Black customers, so they were not able to invest legally. 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.⠀ ⠀ The numbers game in Harlem was male-dominated and St. Clair was one of the ONLY women involved. She helped the Black community in Harlem by providing many with jobs such as numbers runners. She also helped her community by donating money to programs that promoted racial progress. Because of her success in the numbers game, she lived a lavish life .◀️ (Source: Wikipedia) ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ What we also learned about Queenie was that she was tough. She had to be. With her successes there came enemies, especially from the mafia who were very motivated to take over the “underground economy” that yielded significant profits. She was not scared to do what it took to resist fierce intimidations by mobsters like Dutch Schultz. Queenie strategically juggled her businesses, paid off cops, and reigned in Harlem from the 1920s to 1930s before finally retiring and leaving it all to her chief enforcer Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson ⠀ #newyork #harlemrenaissance #cottonclub #1920s #1930s #photo #retro #roaring20s