| Description |
1 online resource (xii, 202 pages) : illustrations |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
"The best job I ever had" -- Chicago's first policy queens -- Chicago's most famous policy queen -- Dream books, fortune-tellers, and mediumship -- What arrest records reveal -- Legal strategies for policy women |
| Summary |
"Ubiquitous illegal lotteries known as policy flourished in Chicago's Black community during the overlapping waves of the Great Migration. Policy "queens" owned stakes in lucrative operations while women writers and clerks canvased the neighborhood, passed out winnings, and kept the books. Elizabeth Schroeder Schlabach examines the complexities of Black women's work in policy gambling. Policy provided Black women with a livelihood for themselves and their families. At the same time, navigating gender expectations, aggressive policing, and other hazards of the infromal economy led them to refashion ideas about Black womanhood and respectability. Policy earnings also funded above-board enterprises ranging from neighborhood businesses to philanthropic institutions, and Schlabach delves into the various ways Black women straddled the illegal policy business and reputable community involvement. Vivid and revealing, Dream Books and Gamblers tells the stories of Black women in the underground economy and how they used their work to balance the demands of living and laboring in Black Chicago"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Lotteries -- Illinois -- Chicago -- History -- 20th century.
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Women, Black -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Economic conditions -- 20th century.
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Women, Black -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
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Informal sector (Economics) -- Chicago -- History -- 20th century.
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HISTORY / General |
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Informal sector (Economics) |
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Lotteries |
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Women, Black -- Economic conditions |
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Women, Black -- Social conditions |
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Illinois -- Chicago |
| Chronological Term |
1900-1999 |
| Genre/Form |
History
|
| Added Title |
Black women's work in Chicago's policy game |
| Other Form: |
Print version: Schlabach, Elizabeth Schroeder. Dream books and gamblers Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2022] 9780252044786 (DLC) 2022013234 |
| ISBN |
0252053834 electronic book |
|
9780252053832 (electronic bk.) |
|
9780252044786 hardcover |
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9780252086878 paperback |
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