Colin Powell, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, and countless others can attest to the economic prosperity and generational wealth “the numbers” created.
Just what was this miracle game all about?
The “numbers” were underground networks of illegal gambling operations and daily digit drawings, popularly enjoyed in cities like Harlem, New York, Chicago, and Detroit.
Contrary to what Hollywood depicts, this wasn’t a scheme sustained completely by a bunch of immoral criminals.
The integrity and ambition of regular folks desperate for a chance to win big despite the realities of Depression-era poverty and discrimination kept it running.
And the Black community DID win big! For a time.
We gained political and economic power thanks to campaign contributions and small business investments underwritten by numbers “hitters” and the “bankers” and bookies themselves.
But with revenues estimated to have reached $1.5 billion by 1980, of course, the state moved to seize a significant cut.
New York legislators ran smear campaigns, insisting these “criminals” were skipping out on their taxes and causing city-wide violence. Community leaders fought for years to maintain control (even pushing for legalization), but by September 1980 control was transferred to the state.
Despite its formal crackdown, playing or running the numbers remains a point of pride for relatives who recall how betting on Black carried more favorable odds than America ever gave us.