Abstract
Sex work, psychics, and numbers runners—three different types of work, but three very vibrant parts of the informal underground economy in 1950s Harlem. In Sex Workers, Psychics and Numbers Runners, LaShawn Harris, an assistant professor of history at Michigan State University, used a broad range of source material—including police and prison records, period literature, and newspaper accounts—to paint a rich picture of women using informal labor to support themselves and their families at a time when black women had few opportunities beyond domestic work.
Attitudes of white supremacy lingering from the days of slavery persisted into the 1950s, forcing many educated and skilled women of color from other countries to toil in jobs far below their training. Black domestic workers were still often times treated as slaves by their white employers, often physically assaulted or underpaid or generally treated with a lack of respect. Many black women refused to do domestic work for these reasons and, as a result, found new and ingenious ways to work.
This informal labor economy described by Harris directly parallels the so-called “gig” economy many of today’s workers find themselves in. Although today’s “gig” economy jobs have flexibility in terms of scheduling and independence, they are also unregulated, and not subject to safety laws, security, minimum wage laws, or benefits.
In the 1950s, this informal economy of sex work, fortune telling, and number runners also allowed women to set their own schedules and be their own bosses, and in a time when day care was often unregulated or unavailable, this allowed women with children to work flexible hours. The downside, however, to many of these jobs were numerous. In addition to the instability in the amount of work available and the pay received, the jobs themselves required being engaged in illegal activity. Many of these women were arrested, set-up, and faced physical harm and societal scorn.
Issues of race, class, and gender shaped the black women’s experience in the 1950s and that shape continues to impact women—for example, economic disparities were rampant then and still have not been addressed, even today. Black women still make far less than their white sisters on average. Attitudes regarding black women’s morality, comments on their physical appearance and attributes, and opinions about their child rearing continue today.
This book provides a rich look at why some people take informal work and could be useful to organizers or researchers studying today’s informal economy. It also provides valuable clues on the experience of black women in our history and forces us to examine the stereotypes and attitudes that linger in today’s society.