the Detroit Numbers

[hybridy]

Fascinating podcast on this piece of detroit history - part of the informal economy African Americans participated in due to being locked out of the larger formal economy.
https://thisiscriminal.com/episode-1...bers-2-15-2019

plug for the book written by Bridgette Davis:
A singular memoir highlighting “the outstanding humanity of black America” that tells the story of one unforgettable mother, her devoted daughter, and the life they lead in the Detroit numbers of the 1960s and 1970s

Part bookie, part banker, mother, wife, granddaughter of slaves, Fannie became more than a numbers runner: she was a kind of Ulysses, guiding both her husbands, five children and a grandson through the decimation of a once-proud city using her wit, style, guts, and even gun. She ran her numbers business for 34 years, doing what it took to survive in a legitimate business that just happened to be illegal. She created a loving, joyful home, sent her children to the best schools, bought them the best clothes, mothered them to the highest standard, and when the tragedy of urban life struck, soldiered on with her stated belief: “Dying is easy. Living takes guts.”