Jun
6
11:30pm
Madame Queen: The Life and Crimes of Harlem's Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair -- Mary Kay McBrayer in conversation with Jeffrey W. Peterson
By Charis Books and More/Charis Circle
This event takes place in person at Charis and on Crowdcast, Charis' virtual event platform. This event is free, but registration is required for virtual attendance. Please read the in-person event guidelines at the bottom of this page to be sure you can participate in the event.
Charis welcomes Mary Kay McBrayer in conversation with Jeffrey W. Peterson for a discussion of Madame Queen: The Life and Crimes of Harlem's Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair, the astonishing little-known history of Harlem racketeer Madame Stephanie St. Clair, one of the only female crime bosses and a Black, self-made businesswoman in early twentieth-century New York.
In her heyday, Stephanie St. Clair went by many names, but one was best known by all: Madame Queen. The undeniable queen of the Harlem numbers game, St. Clair redefined what it meant to be a woman of means. After immigrating to America from the West Indies, St. Clair would go on to manage one of the largest policy banks in all of Harlem by 1923. She knew the power of reputation, and even though her business was illegal gambling, she ran it like any other respectable entrepreneur.
St. Clair learned how to navigate the complex male-dominated world of crime syndicates, all at a time when Tammany Hall and mafia groups like the Combination were trying to rule New York. With her tenacity and intellectual prowess, she never backed down. Madame Queen was a complicated figure, but she prioritized the people of Harlem above all else, investing her wealth back into the neighborhood and speaking out against police corruption and racial discrimination.
St. Clair was a trailblazer, unafraid to challenge societal norms. But for far too long she's been a footnote in more infamous characters' stories, like Bumpy Johnson, Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano. Now, in this masterful portrayal of a woman who defied the odds at all costs, she finally gets her due.
About the Author
Mary Kay McBrayer is the author of America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster and the upcoming Madame Queen: The Life and Crimes of Harlem’s Underground Racketeer, Stephanie St. Clair. You can find her short works at Oxford American, Narratively, Mental Floss, and FANGORIA, among other publications. She hosts the podcast about women in true crime, The Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told. Find her at https://www.marykaymcbrayer.com/
About the Conversation Partner
Jeffrey W. Peterson is a teacher, writer, and film critic. He previously taught English Composition at Spelman College and the University of West Georgia, as well as Language Arts and percussion at metro-Atlanta high schools. He currently teaches at Fusion Academy in Alpharetta, GA, while pursuing a PhD in Moving Image Studies at Georgia State University. He has a BA in English, an MFA in Writing with a focus on poetry, and is a member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle (AFCC), Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC, and African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA).
The event is free and open to all people, but we encourage and appreciate a donation of $5-20 in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Donate on Crowdcast or via our website: www.chariscircle.org/donate or in person at the event.
Charis Books is a fully wheelchair accessible space with on site van accessible parking, two ramps, and additional overflow accessible parking nearby. Additional accessibility information can be found on the Accessibility page of our website.
In-person event guidelines:
- All attendees must wear a face mask during the event.
- We will begin seating people at 7:00 PM ET.
- This event will be live-streamed via Crowdcast.
- As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event.
If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request specific accessibility accommodations, please contact [email protected] or call the store at 404-524-0304.
Please contact us at [email protected] or 404-524-0304 if you would like ASL interpretation at this event. If you would like to watch the event with live AI captions, you may do so by watching it in Google Chrome and enabling captions: Instructions here. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to [email protected].
By attending our event, whether in person or virtually, you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Unsolicited sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to Charis staff immediately or email [email protected].
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Charis Books and More/Charis Circle
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