The differences that caused discrimination between blacks and whites were also the causes of the animosity between the different ethnicities that were considered part of the black race. In the last few chapters, there were many interesting people mentioned that had different reactions to this situation. There were others that managed to build enterprises while not being affected by the divide at all. People that stood out to me were Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Madame Stephanie St. Clair, and Casper Holstein.
The idea for the mass return to Africa by Marcus Garvey was astounding. He did manage to get a large following that agreed with this idea, and to be proud of being African. It would also take a sane person a huge amount of courage to meet with the Klu Klux Klan, but I am guessing that fear was the smallest thing in his mind when he was closing in on the confrontation. Leading such a huge population to Africa would lead them back to an imperialistic government with there still being a lower class feeling suppressed. Creating a black-controlled economy however, was a great idea that was somewhat done with by the bankers in the numbers game.
Claude McKay was a Jamaican writer that wrote many pieces about alienation, both from native white Americans, and native black Americans. The first generation of black immigrants cared more about ethnic identity than race, thus creating the establishment that McKay found so unwelcoming. However from these experiences he started getting closer to other black ethnicities. Whether Caribbean or native black, they were still persecuted and greatly threatened in the race riots of 1919. He moved around America with a unit of many other black Americans that would protect each other from attacks. From his books, it is understood that through this experience and many others like this one, there was some level of fellowship that he established with the black community.
During the early 1900s the numbers game, or policy, established a new way of gaining economic capital. This game of chance was so irresistible that even the white community participated in it. There was a quote about white betters paying their debts to black collectors, which was an unbelievable idea at that time period. It was however unfortunate that such instances would only happen in policy, an illegal gambling ring. The profits from the bankers went towards so many different projects that improved the Harlem community. Madame Stephanie St. Clair, in order to protect her business, exposed police corruption to the public. The audacity she had when she confronted the Shultz gang was unbelievable.
Another influential banker was Panama Francis. He used his winnings to start the era of the “Negro League” and he became a major proponent of black involvement in baseball and boxing. The greatest patron however seems to be Casper Holstein. He was a patron of the arts and donator to schools, charities, political organizations, and students. Not only did he do that for the Harlem community, he also did it for the people in the Virgin Islands, and his native country Grenada. It is no wonder that he was praised as a messiah with all the help that he provided to the people that surrounded him. It was a shame that gangsters took him out of the numbers game, and that he eventually ended up as a poor man.
I think that these people deserve more recognition for what they have done to shape New York. Yes, some were considered radical, and others gained their profits through illegal means, but that should not define whom they were. Holstein funded The New Negro, and he also probably funded the education of many intellectuals that were prominent during the mid 1900s. The impact that these businesspeople have had is something that I am considering to research. Starting with so little yet being able to do so much is very inspiring.
