Al Capone ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano controlled much of New York. But in Harlem, only one name truly mattered: Bumpy Johnson.
He may not be as famous as those men today, yet he was one of the most influential gangsters in American underworld history. From the 1930s to the 1960s, he was considered the godfather of Harlem, the neighborhood in northern Manhattan where he held absolute control.
If you wanted to run an illegal gambling operation in Harlem, you had to go through Bumpy. If you wanted to open a speakeasy, you had to go through Bumpy. If you wanted to do anything illegal in Harlem, you had to go through Bumpy.
Even Frank Lucas, the notorious drug trafficker portrayed by Denzel Washington in American Gangster, was one of his associates. Lucas once said that if you wanted to do business in Harlem, you did it with Bumpy Johnson or you were dead.
Whenever the police or politicians needed something, they turned to him. Even the mafia had to go through Bumpy to conduct business in Harlem. No other African-American gangster of that era had ever achieved such power and influence.
At a time when racial discrimination was deeply ingrained, black men had to fight through obstacles just to claim a piece of the American dream, even in the criminal underworld. Bumpy Johnson was the exception to the rule. But before becoming the godfather of Harlem, he started at the very bottom.
Bumpy, whose real name was Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, was born on October 31, 1905, in Charleston, South Carolina. Racial segregation was still in effect at the time, so his family settled in the city's black neighborhood.
The Johnsons were a modest family, respected in their community. They were also very religious and attended church regularly. His father William worked as a fisherman, while his mother Margaret worked as a domestic servant.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had eight children, and last came Ellsworth, nicknamed Bumpy, a name he would keep for life due to a bump on the back of his skull. At school, he was said to be incredibly intelligent and talkative, so much so that he skipped two grades at the public school in Charleston.
Ironically, he would never finish high school, a source of shame for Bumpy, who had been raised in a family that greatly valued education. As a result, he did not hesitate to lie, claiming that he had attended prestigious schools or universities. He was so clever and charming that no one ever questioned him when he claimed to have a college education.
Bumpy also had a rebellious side and was always very sensitive to the racial injustices faced by black people in the segregated South. In fact, his family found itself in turmoil due to these racial discriminations when he turned 10 years old.
At that time, Willie, his nine-year-old brother, was accused of killing a white man in South Carolina, an area known for taking matters into their own hands when a black person committed an offense against a white person. The Johnson family panicked. They wanted to save their son from a possible lynching, so they quickly got him out of town and sent him to New York.
Bumpy joined them later in 1919. His father had arranged for him to be sent to his older sister Mabel, who lived in Harlem, hoping to give him the opportunity for a better life.
At that time, Bumpy was 14 years old and was rather small for his age, a small size he made up for with his tough guy attitude. But sometimes that was not enough, and Bumpy became the target of the bullies in his neighborhood.
One such altercation happened on his first day at school in Harlem. He was only two blocks away from his school when he crossed paths with six other teenagers standing on a street corner throwing dice. One of them called out to him and grabbed his arm.
A confrontation ensued, and Bumpy, being smaller and faster, easily dodged the first punch. His fist landed squarely in the middle of his opponent's face, breaking his nose. The fight continued until Bumpy emerged victorious.
After that, Bumpy and the boys he had fought became close friends, an enduring friendship that would last until the end of their lives. Following this encounter, Bumpy never set foot in school again.
Every morning, he would leave his sister Mabel's apartment to meet his new friends. They would go out to try to make money playing pool, shooting craps, or selling newspapers. They soon started sweeping the sidewalks in front of certain businesses in Harlem, and they earned even more money.
Bumpy was clearly the brains of the gang. It did not take him long to realize that he and his friends could make even more by offering their protection to some of the new stores in the neighborhood. It was through this that he met Bub Hewlett.
Bub Hewlett was one of those fearless thugs in Harlem who never walked around without a knife, a baseball bat, or a gun in hand. Standing at 6'1" with an imposing build, he was the kind of guy you did not want to mess with. Bub made his living by extorting money from local businesses in exchange for protection.
One day, he heard about the opening of a grocery store on 7th Avenue. He went there to offer his protection services, but to his surprise, the store owner told him he had already paid for protection and pointed to Bumpy, who was leaning against Bub's black Lincoln, arms crossed, glaring at him through the store's window.
At that moment, Bub could have easily knocked young Bumpy out with a single punch, but he admired the kid's guts, so he offered to partner up. And that is how Bumpy began his rise in the Harlem underworld.
In the 1920s, Bumpy and his crew made their living through all sorts of rackets as well as burglaries. During this time, Bub, who had developed a fondness for Bumpy, suggested that he and his crew diversify by offering protection to owners of illegal lotteries in Harlem.
Bumpy seized the opportunity and quickly became one of the most sought-after bodyguards in Harlem. His reputation grew day by day, and it was about to take off thanks to someone known at the time as the queen of the illegal lottery, Stephanie St. Clair.
Stephanie St. Clair was a French-born gang leader in Harlem. She operated in the gambling business and by the 1920s had built a vast criminal empire in the neighborhood. She hired Bumpy to protect one of her many illegal lotteries.
Impressed by his protection skills, she made him her personal bodyguard. Bumpy would escort her when she went to see a place, and a quick friendship developed between the two. Bumpy admired St. Clair's class, but also the fact that she was always ready to fight to protect what was hers.
This came to light in the 1930s when the mafia tried to take a slice of the illegal gambling business in Harlem. The underground lottery made a lot of money in that part of New York, so it was natural for the mafia to want to get involved. Dutch Schultz, a gangster linked to New York's five families, took charge of the operation.
This was in the middle of the Great Depression, and at the time, an illegal gambling game had become widespread in Harlem: the numbers game. To participate, all you needed to do was bet $1 with the hope of winning $600. By the early 1930s, this business was generating more than $50 million annually.
An enormous amount, especially considering the economic hardship the country was facing. Schultz started sending his men to Harlem to tell the lottery owners that he was ready to join their operations. From there, he managed to establish himself in Harlem's gambling business, and his empire grew significantly.
Something that did not sit well with St. Clair. A war between the two factions was now inevitable. By the end of 1931, Bumpy was released from prison after serving time for various offenses.
During his absence, Stephanie St. Clair had received a visit from Bub Hewlett, who now worked for Schultz. Bub tried to convince St. Clair to join their organization, which by then had taken control of most of Harlem's lottery operations. This proposition infuriated her.
The pressure on her crew was only growing stronger. Despite all these troubles, St. Clair had managed to keep her gambling empire alive, though on a smaller scale. She knew that someone she trusted would soon return to Harlem. Someone who was always ready to fight, especially when a white man tried to take something from black people. Bumpy was about to make his comeback.
It had only been two days since Bumpy was released from prison when he ran into Bub Hewlett at a bar. Everyone in Harlem knew that Bub worked for Schultz and that he would try to convince Bumpy to join them. At the same time, everyone also knew that St. Clair wanted Bumpy as her ally in this war.
People were left wondering which side Bumpy would choose. When Bub offered him a position working for Schultz, Bumpy's response was clear. He said he could never see himself siding with the white man over the black man.
Later that night, he went to see Stephanie St. Clair. They organized a meeting with dozens of African-American figures from Harlem's gambling scene. Some chose to stand by their side, and that marked the true beginning of the war between Schultz and St. Clair.
In this war, Bumpy had the unwavering support of his old friends Nat, Finley, and Juny. With his gang of nine men, Bumpy went after Schultz's soldiers. They were vastly outnumbered, so their only option was to adopt a guerrilla strategy.
Unlike Schultz's men, Bumpy and his crew blended in effortlessly as African-Americans in Harlem, which gave them a huge advantage. The war continued for years with violence escalating on both sides.
It was not until October 1935 that things finally changed, when Lucky Luciano and other members of the American Organized Crime Syndicate decided that Schultz had to be eliminated. Dutch Schultz was shot in a restaurant in New Jersey and died in the hospital shortly after. The Bumpy and St. Clair clan had won. Harlem was once again free and the war was finally over.
With Schultz out of the picture, Bumpy and Luciano met again, this time at the request of the Italian mafia boss. Bumpy first stated that he was aware that he could not win a war against Luciano, but he certainly could not just sit idly by and let the Harlem gambling business slip away from African-Americans.
After listening to Bumpy, Luciano declared that he was willing to leave all the Harlem gambling operators alone, at least those who had supported him during the war. After that, Bumpy asked to become Luciano's partner in Harlem, meaning the mafia would not take any action there without his agreement and a share of the business.
The negotiations continued and the two men eventually reached an agreement. Bumpy had successfully negotiated a piece with honor and had stood his ground against New York's biggest crime boss, an achievement that the people of Harlem would not soon forget.
After the meeting with Luciano, everyone wanted to be his friend. Drinks were always on the house whenever he entered a bar or club. More and more women flocked to him, and more celebrities even came to introduce themselves.
But what Bumpy liked most about his new status was seeing the Italian gangsters respect the deal he had made with Luciano. A friendly relationship developed between the two men. They would play chess together, with Bumpy often planning four or five moves ahead.
Their chess games would continue until 1936, when Luciano was sent to prison for forced prostitution. Bumpy joined him a year later after being arrested for criminal assault, receiving a 10-year sentence. He was then sent to Dannemora prison, where Luciano was incarcerated. It is even said that Bumpy once saved Lucky in the prison yard, a favor that reportedly earned him some good Italian food during his stay.
Bumpy was released from Dannemora in 1947. But when he returned to the streets of Harlem, things had changed. The Italians had tightened their grip on the neighborhood.
When Bumpy announced his intention to reopen his numbers bank, he was told by Joe Adonis, the acting head of Luciano's operations, that times had changed and he would need to work through them. Bumpy refused to be intimidated. He let out a small laugh, then stood up with his men and left the meeting. He told Adonis to get word to Luciano about what was going on.
Fortunately, Adonis had informed Luciano about the situation, and Luciano had told him that not only did the mafia have to honor the deal he made with Bumpy, but they also had to give him everything he wanted. From that point on, Bumpy was able to solidify his dominance over Harlem. No one could stand in his way anymore.
Then the unthinkable happened. Following his agreement with the Italians, Bumpy opened his lottery on 135th Street. It was a lucrative business, earning him nearly $60,000 a month.
Everything was going well until the day he met a man named Flash Walker. Flash Walker was a young orphan, penniless, and looking for work. Bumpy took pity on him and hired him.
Flash quickly integrated into the Johnson family to the point of becoming like a son to Bumpy. Their bond became so strong that Bumpy started to trust him more and more. However, Flash made several mistakes that betrayed that trust.
He cashed suspicious checks into Bumpy's account, causing serious problems. Then, Bumpy learned that Flash had behaved inappropriately toward his daughters. Bumpy confronted Flash and beat him severely in the street, but he did not kill him, perhaps because he still had some affection for his protege. This decision would prove to be a mistake.
Flash, seeking revenge, ratted him out to the cops, claiming Bumpy was selling drugs. Bumpy was arrested at his home by two narcotics agents. When he was arrested, Flash had told the police he was selling drugs for Bumpy, which apparently was not true, as even the narcotics officers did not believe him. None of them had ever heard that Bumpy was involved in the drug trade.
Despite his protests of innocence, Bumpy spent a fortune trying to prove himself. Unfortunately, it was not enough. In June 1953, the trial took place. Against all expectations, Bumpy was found guilty on two counts of drug trafficking. He was going to be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
He would spend most of his time in detention at Alcatraz, a prison that housed the most dangerous criminals in the country at the time. In the end, Bumpy served only 10 years in prison and was released on parole in 1963.
When he returned to Harlem, the streets were filled with people welcoming him. People clapped and threw confetti as the car passed by. It felt like the president of the United States was parading through. Bumpy stood up, tears in his eyes, and waved to the crowd. It seemed the people of Harlem had not forgotten him, even after all this time.
In the end, the scene hinted at a kind of farewell that was soon to come. Bumpy had heart problems that had started at the beginning of 1967, and they would claim his life a year later. On July 7, 1968, he was about to eat at a restaurant in Harlem that night when his heart gave out. He was 62 years old.
The death of Bumpy Johnson shocked everyone. It marked the end of one of Harlem's most memorable figures. He was often described as a gangster with a social conscience, a criminal who played the role of a philanthropist helping the less fortunate in his neighborhood.
A few hundred people gathered to pay their final respects to the man considered the Robin Hood of Harlem. However, this Robin Hood was still a racketeer, a pimp, and involved in criminal activities. It is said that he regretted not continuing his studies.
What people will remember about him is the African-American man from a poor background who rose to the top of the New York underworld. With just a handful of loyal men, he managed to stand up to the powerful Italian mafia, becoming its sole ambassador in Harlem.
A gangster who spent 26 years of his life in prison, was shot at 15 times, and was described by the prosecutor in his 1953 trial as one of the most dangerous criminals in the history of Harlem.