Had They Lived in Another Society: Numbers Gambling, Race, and the Reproduction of Vulnerability in Urban Life

Abstract

This essay traces the debate among Black intellectuals and artists over the role of numbers gambling within Black public life. Over the course of the Twentieth Century an array of Black intellectuals grappled with the dual nature of the numbers game as both a vulnerability prompting mass arrests and encouraging wasteful spending, and as a resource providing jobs and funds for politics and business formation. The dilemma presented by numbers gambling is ultimately reflective of the restrictions placed on Black life in labor, business, politics, and leisure.