Bumpy would say that. And it was Dr. John Henrick Clarke, the late noted African-American historian and pioneer of Africana studies, who got me in contact with Mayme Johnson, Bumpy's widow who was still. I finally wiggled through the crowd and over to my old block. And I frankly and sincerely pray for similar blessings from Him to repeat themselves as often as He can. Her husband died in 1968, and after moving to Philadelphia in 2004, Mrs. Johnson wrote Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, published last year. Miss Ke-Ke, he said, puzzled over my hesitation. Nobody could break into a second-floor window better than my Uncle Nicky. Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson (October 31, 1905 July 7, 1968) was an American crime boss in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. On this particular evening I was doing my weekly ironing, and listening rather than watching, an episode of Unsolved Mysteries," airing on television in the next room. AllHipHop.com: So you feel he kept a kind of order to the streets, to the community?Mayme Johnson: Oh yes, I dont think the streets would have so much drugs and so much crime going on. It was 1994 and I was a 36-year-old reporter for The Virginian Pilot living in Norfolk, Va., and raising my own young daughter. We had a good time together. Bumpy played chess with the head of the Five Families for years in front of the YMCA on 135th Street. Despite his tumultuous childhood, Malcolm excelled in school. Mayme Hatcher Johnson died on May 1, 2009. The next morning Madame picked me up in her black Cadillac she was the only woman I knew in Harlem who had her own Caddy and drove me around for an hour, making stops all over the neighborhood, without ever saying a word to me until we stopped and got out at Graham Court a huge apartment complex at 116th and Seventh Avenue. AllHipHop.com: Thanks for your time Ms. Johnson, We really appreciate it. Merchants in the area had been urged to close by supporters of Malcolm, but only a smattering of stores suspended business. "Salam aleikum," he said. A funeral? But by the time Bumpy went to trial [for the hospital assault and stabbing], Charlie said he had no idea what the police were talking about., Its not for nothing that an assistant US attorney described Bumpy as the most vicious and dangerous criminal in Harlem., Bumpy Johnsons final stint in jail was a 10-year stretch, for conspiracy and sale of narcotics, which eventually landed him in Alcatraz. I dont even know if Junie Byrd knew him. His parents were active supporters of Marcus Garvey, who advocated for the separation of Black and white communities so that the former could build their own economic and political systems. I heard the narrator launch into a mini-biography on Bumpy how he had fought a bloody war with the crazy Jewish mob boss, Dutch Schultz, over control of the numbers racket in Harlem. He was born Ellsworth Raymond Johnson and was given the nickname "Bumpy" because of a bump in the back of his head. Though is real name is Ellsworth, a bump on the back of his head led to him receiving the nickname "Bumpy". Elise Johnson is the real daughter of Bumpy and Mayme Johnson, and Margaret Johnson's mother. Recently, the movie American Gangster has brought to light the tale of Frank Lucas and in telling his story, we have been exposed to many layers of peripheral tales of connected lives. They were married three months later.". His popularity soon eclipsed Elijah Muhammad's, and, by some estimates, NOI's membership surged from 400 to 40,000 in just eight years. [5], In 1952, Johnson's activities were reported in the celebrity people section of Jet. His family's house had been destroyed in a firebomb attack only several days prior, but that did not stop Malcolm X from speaking to the crowd of 400 people. Mayme Johnson: He sure did! My family members every time say that I am wasting my time here at net, but All A's as usual, but there was something different on this report card. 184 on 116th Street when I stopped in my mothers office to hand her my report card. In all, after more than a half-century, the quest for true justice in the case of Malcolm X's assassination continues on. When he entered the living room, everyone stood up. I wasnt good at guessing ages, but I figured he must have been as old my grandfather would have been if he were still alive. Didnt make much sense to me. A large group of people was milling through the streets not a crowd or a mob, like I had seen during the Harlem riots just months before, but something gentler. The steps were made of veined marble. When he was 10, his older brother Willie was accused of . Depicted as Lucas mentor, the exploits of Johnson, once chronicled by Lawrence Fishburne in the movie Hoodlum have returned to our attention.Although hes been gone since 1968, Johnson left behind a valuable piece of his legacy: his still alive and kicking wife, Mayme Johnson, who vehemently defends his legacy, and takes issue with his depiction in American Gangster, particularly his relationship to Lucas. King said such language "can reap nothing but grief.". ", Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and Flash Walker, the man who, later turned on Johnson and framed in a drug conspiracy. One of them had his left leg broken by Malcolm's supporters. Some of Schultz's last words were: - "A boy has never weptnor dashed a thousand kin.". I was impressed. Martin Luther King Jr. sent Malcolm X's wife, Betty Shabazz, a telegram after Malcolm X was killed. That he lived 62 years without quitting his life of crime he was out on $50,000 bail, stemming from a narcotics rap as he ate his last meal speaks volumes of his wits and resiliency. Manage Settings No. Most accepted the former and took $200-per-week salaries, forsaking the thousands they earned on their own. Even the children at P.S. I look forward to hearing from you! I think Bumpy would really clear all that up. Well they kept order in Harlem but nothing like it is now. "We will not only send [armed guerrillas] to Mississippi, but to any place where black people's lives are threatened by white bigots. One who refused to buckle was Madame Stephanie St. Clair, the only female numbers runner in Harlem. He responded that: "The white race in this country collectively are guilty of these crimes that our people are suffering from collectively, and therefore they would suffer some collective disaster, collective grief. He died in 1968. . To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. I wished that it was evening instead of in the middle of the afternoon so I could see chandelier shimmer, or perhaps feel the warm glow of light that I just knew would come from the marble-surrounded fireplace. Johnson's Harlem apartment was a virtual library of prison records, black-and-white photos and government documents. The episode was about the only successful escape from Alcatraz Penitentiary, which occurred in 1962. In her book, Stranger at the Party, Lawrenson writes about the time he left a steak dinner for a shootout on the street. A public viewing of his casket took place at the Unity Funeral Home in Harlem, where some 14,000 to 30,000 mourners paid their respects following Malcolm X's assassination. Madame left me sitting in an overstuffed chair in a room full of strangers mostly men all waiting around, some playing cards, while she went into a back room. One of her sometimes co-workers was a woman I only knew as Madame, who was also the local number runner. Yeah, I decided, that Bumpy Johnson must have been really bad if the police was scared he going to jump from his coffin and start shooting or something. The event surrounding Malcolm X's funeral was heavily guarded by police presence. Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's wife, leaves the morgue at Bellevue Hospital in New York after identifying the body of her husband. We've received your submission. And I had actually attended his funeral. Malcolm replaced his surname "Little" with an "X," an NOI tradition. Sat 17 Nov 2007 18.55 EST. Afraid of a possible lynch mob, his parents mortgaged their tiny home to raise money to send Willie up north to live with relatives. Vivid memoir of Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, Harlem street legend and husband of co-author, Mayme Johnson. In the confusion, three assailants rushed the stage and shot him multiple times. Sadly, my question had revealed I was unworthy of his wisdom. Bumpy Johnson, also known as the Godfather of Harlem, inspired the TV series of the same name. Um, I like chocolate, I answered weakly. I wondered who it was. I was ten years old, and still upset that my family moved from Harlem to the Bronx the year before. Malcolm X announced his split from the Nation of Islam on March 8, 1964. Because white men in Harlem were easily identified, he was able to go after Dutchs gang. . [4] He became St Clair's principal lieutenant in the 1930s. "He must not realize I'm still alive for him to be telling them lies. Pimp, drug lord, numbers racketeer and peddler of protection, Johnson traveled with a straight razor and had no aversion to using it: He slashed those who crossed him and is said to have destroyed a guys eyeball with a spoon. Mississippi then-Attorney General Jim Hood officially . Margaret Johnson is the daughter of Ellsworth Raymond Jhonson, aka Bumpy Johnson, an Afro African mobster famous for his drug trafficking and crimes. Johnson and St. Clair aimed to start a war against New York mob boss Dutch Schultz. After dropping out of school, Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, Ella. Just because, I said, giving him the pat 8-year-old answer to all unanswerable questions. It meant I could get in anywhere I wanted to go, I was treated as queen wherever I went, and I was showered with gifts and jewelry on a steady basis. At her direction, he had suits custom made while purchasing shirts and ties from elite haberdasher Sulka. The funeral of Ellsworth R. (Bumpy) Johnson, a Harlem underworld figure, will be held tomorrow at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 122d Street and Lenox Avenue. Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? It ended with a French Connection-worthy car chase that began at his Harlem apartment and ended on the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens. Trivia. Elise Johnson is the true daughter of Bumpy and Mayme Johnson, and Margaret Johnson's mom. "Boy, it really made her proud to finally get that book done.". I looked at him incredulously. The investigation into Malcolm Xs murder was mired in mishandling and sabotage from the outset. But the traits that made him an icon and his belief that Black people should secure their freedom and equality by whatever means necessary also garnered him plenty of enemies, both Black and white. And hell if I was going to let them back me away from a man who treated me as good as Bumpy treated me. The gangster., Boy, whats wrong with you? A big hammy paw came down upon his head, and the woman to whom it belonged glared at the two of us. But when the mafia decided that they wanted a piece of the action, Bumpy Johnson fought back with a . She met her husband in 1956 at a Nation of Islam lecture in Harlem. Dectectives check for fingerprints on the car they found shortly after the assassination of Malcolm X. Alan Aaronson/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images. Malcolm's father, Earl Little, was a Baptist preacher and would host gatherings with other Garvey supporters in their home, which exposed Malcolm to the problems of race early in his childhood. He was arrested the next year and sentenced to 10 years in prison. "Elijah Muhammad taught his followers that the only solution was a separate state for black people," Malcolm X later said during an appearance on the CBC. He wasnt Robin Hood, Eckstein said. In 1912 fifteen-year-old St. Clair arrived in Harlem and eventually by the 1920s became known for her deep involvement Read MoreStephanie St. Clair (1897-1969) Soon the tap tap of my double-dutching feet on the . I stayed at the hospital with him when he was so sick. Witnesses said Killen then went to a Philadelphia funeral home as an alibi while the fatal attack occurred. The photograph was still on the screen, and I continued to stare. As far as I am concerned," he toldEbony magazine in its September 1964 issue, "Mississippi is anywhere south of the Canadian border.". Friends and relatives maintained that Bumpy profited from sales of heroin in Harlem but that he personally did not handle the drugs. This week's episode of Godfather of Harlem begins and ends with a funeral. Bumpy Johnson's funeral took place in Woodlawn Cemetry in New York City. I said simply, Is that right? Godfather of . Yeah, I decided, that Bumpy Johnson must have been really bad if the police was scared he going to jump from his coffin and start shooting or something. He was a peaceful person. Guys who survived the crime scene in Harlem were special, powerful, strong-willed people, Paul Eckstein, co-creator and co-writer of Godfather of Harlem, the Johnson bio-series starring Forest Whitaker and dropping Sunday on Epix, told The Post. "You didn't know?". AllHipHop.com: I also saw on BET where hes referencing brownstones and things of that nature but I know that you guys didnt live in a brownstone.Mayme Johnson: No. Gangster William Hewett started to notice him. tons of valuable data, thanks for providing these kinds of data. I was right. Unfortunately, when Bumpy was just 10 years old, his brother, Willie, was accused of killing a white man in Charleston. After we were buzzed into the building on the southeast corner of the courtyard, Madame leaned down, told me to mind my manners, then knocked at the door of a first-floor apartment. Civil rights leader Malcolm X in Oxford before addressing university students on the subject of extremism and liberty. The war lasted nearly three years. Stephanie St. Clair was born in Martinique, an island in the East Caribbean on December 24, 1897 and came to the United States via Marseilles, France. Bumpy jumped on the gurney and started punching New York Charlie in the face. In April of 1964, after converting to the Sunni faith, he flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to begin his Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. I dont know where he was but he was not there. So then he looked at it from a different perspective and he saw what they meant when they said the white man was the devil. My Uncle Nicky used to talk about him . ", It was statements like these that garnered Malcolm X and NOI unprecedented attention and made Malcolm a lightning rod of media criticism. Mrs. Johnson was born near Ashville, N.C., Miller said, and moved to New York in 1938, where she became a waitress at Hagar's, a Washington Heights club owned by actress Ethel Waters. In recent years, in fact, more people than ever are asking who really killed Malcolm X and finding that the answers arent what they first seemed. And of course, he must have been a millionaire after all he lived at Graham Court . Said to be one of Harlems best chess players, he thought strategically and often predicted what the Mafia would do Johnson and the syndicate often tangled before they did it.. No. Especially Bumpy.AllHipHop.com: Their activities were illegal in nature but do you think it was different mechanics to it as far as keeping people in line? Then he went crazy on you. They had a bumpy marriage as Johnson was sent to jail several times and was tied to criminal activities. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. I heard from one of his guys that he distributed heroin in the spray containers.. Malcolm was skeptical at first as he was of all religions. 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Bumpy would be the first black guy to stand up to the white criminals, said Chris Brancato, Ecksteins partner on the series. There aren't many men who would lay down their lives for you.". If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. "We always look at gangsters like they're not human beings."-. And if there was kids in school that were having a problem or wasnt gonna have a good Thanksgiving or ChristmasBumpy would go to the police department and send food and money to help them have a happy holiday. The one question I had, I blurted out immediately . Uniformed police officers with rifles were watching Bumpy Johnson's funeral. Anyone can read what you share. The religion preached that Blacks were innately superior and that whites were the devil. I was ten years old, and still upset that my family moved from Harlem to the Bronx the year before. Bumpys men, on the other hand, blended in and could have been anywhere.. Harlem had a godfather, too, and unlike the Corleones, he was real. Him and Junie Byrdtheyd tell the kids go to school, get an education, dont do what Im doing. Go and get an education for yourself. She was portrayed by Novella Nelson in the 1984 film "Cotton Club" and by Cicely Tyson in the 1997 film "Hoodlum". Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, better known as Bumpy Johnson, was an American mob boss and book maker in the Harlem section of New York City. thanks. His pilgrimage changed him. The two prominent African-American leaders had often been at odds with their vastly different approaches to eradicate the country's structural racism. And it was Junie Byrd that came and got me. Madame, whom had never said more than a quick hello to me before, reacted with such delight you would have thought I were her child. Johnson was originally from Charleston, South Carolina. Elijah Muhammad, head of the Nation of Islam, in 1960. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Wikimedia CommonsWhen he was young, Malcolm X's family was harassed by white supremacists. Can you elaborate on that?Mayme Johnson: Yes. I just knew the person who lived in this grand residence had to be a millionaire. He helped a lot of people. At least one part of him, I knew very well. My Uncle Nicky knew something about Harlem bad men, because he had a pretty good reputation himself as one of the best second-story men in Harlem. I took it as omen that I needed to take a break from housework. Era conhecido por seu temperamento explosivo e desgosto por brancos.Ele comeou a ganhar destaque no mundo do crime servindo na rede de apostas ilegais . In her new book Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, Mayme Johnson takes aim at Lucas larger than life image as she reveals the true extent of his relationship . Woman on the left of Mrs. Shabazz is Ella Collins, Malcolm X's sister. Bumpy kept the war in Harlem, said Karen E. Quinones Miller, who co-wrote the book Harlem Godfather (no relation to the series) with Bumpys wife of 20 years, Mayme Johnson.