Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson - Softcover

Johnson, Mayme Hatcher; Miller, Karen E. Quinones

4.21

220 ratings by Goodreads

9781592323975: Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592323979 ISBN 13: 9781592323975

Publisher: Seaburn Books, 2012

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Al Capone may have ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson. He was called an old-fashioned gentleman. He was called a pimp. A philanthropist and a thief. A scholar and a thug. A man who admonished children to stay in school, and a man who some say introduced heroin into Harlem. Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree in his lifetime, Bumpy was the man in Harlem.

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Review:

Bumpy Johnson was Harlem. Period. Here, he becomes more than a conflicted character in Hoodlum or a blatant misrepresentation in American Gangster. Here, his charisma and creativeness prove he should be acknowledged with all the great bosses of the "mafia" heyday. -- The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers "The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers www.rawsistaz.com"

"I recommend Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson to anyone wanting to know the truth about the real American gangster." -- Jennifer Coissiere - APOOO Book Club "APOOO Book Club www.apooo.com"

About the Author:

Mayme Hatcher Johnson was born near Durham, North Carolina in 1914. She moved to Harlem in 1938, and worked first as a cleaning woman, then as a hostess for Hagars Barbecue, a restaurant owned by singer Ethel Waters. In April 1948 Mayme met the already infamous Harlem gangster, Bumpy Johnson, and the two married just six months later. Together they raised Ruthie, Mayme s daughter from a previous relationship; and Elease, Bumpy s daughter from a prior relationship. Mayme was married to Bumpy a total of 20 years, and while Bumpy was incarcerated for 10 of those years, the two had a very close relationship, and he shared with her many secrets of his past that he refused to discuss with other people. After Bumpy died in 1968, Mayme remained in Harlem in the apartment they had shared in the Lenox Terrace until 2003, when she moved to Philadelphia. Mayme's favorite pastimes include reading newspapers such as The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Amsterdam News, and watching news programs in order to keep up with current events. She also admits to being a big fan of the show, Judge Judy. Though she has been in Philadelphia for four years, Mayme still stays in close contact with her friends in Harlem, as well as her older brother (95), and her younger sister (90), both of whom still live in North Carolina. She attributes her and her siblings longevity to good genes. To learn more about Mayme, and to her speak on tape, visit the Harlem Godfather website. Karen E. Quinones Miller is the author of Essence Magazine Bestsellers, Satin Doll, I'm Telling, Using What You Got, Ida B.,(which was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award Outstanding Literary Fiction), and Satin Nights. Born and raised in Harlem (she first met Bumpy Johnson when she was eight years old), Miller is also a former staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer, a former correspondent for People Magazine, and has written for a series of other magazines, including Don Diva, and The Source. Miller's sixth novel, Passin' - about a young light-skinned African-American woman who decides to pass for white in 2007 New York City is being published by Warner Books in Feb. 2008.

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