Sex Workers, Psychics, and Numbers Runners
Book description
During the early twentieth century, a diverse group of African American women carved out unique niches for themselves within New York City's expansive informal economy. LaShawn Harris illuminates the labor patterns and economic activity of three perennials within this kaleidoscope of underground industry: sex work, numbers running for gambling enterprises,…
Why read it?
1 author picked Sex Workers, Psychics, and Numbers Runners as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
As someone who has written about women in the underground economy in the 1850s, I appreciated having this additional perspective on Black working women in the 1920s who were variously numbers runners, psychics, and sex workers.
These jobs gave women an opportunity to make money at a time when so many options were cut off for them. I especially enjoyed reading about Stephanie St. Claire, who held a huge influence in Harlem in the numbers runners game and defied the authorities and mafia gang leaders while making a lot of money at her work. Her story is phenomenal, and Harris…
From Marie's list on history about working women in New York City.
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