Graphic novel resurrects Black female mob boss and Harlem fashion icon : NPR

In the middle of Elizabeth Columba and Aurelie Levy’s new graphic novel, Queenie: Godmother of Harlemthe viewer is faced with a harrowing scene.

The protagonist, a young Afro-Caribbean immigrant named Stephanie St. Clair, is on a bus traveling south from New York City to escape an abusive relationship – when the Ku Klux Klan pulls over. After ordering St. Clair and all the other black passengers off the bus, the Klan violently attacked them.

This is the first scene that New York-based artist Columba has painted and presented to a publisher since he began writing the script for the project three years ago with his longtime Paris-based collaborator Levy. was.

“This is a pivotal moment in her life,” Columba said. “She could easily be killed and I’m sure they left her for dead….and it’s almost like a phoenix, almost a miracle. Powerful enough to transcend it there is something.”

From the proverbial ashes of this moment, Stephanie St. Clair, aka “Queen,” created a new persona to use when running numbers games (illegal lotteries) during the height of the Harlem Renaissance. The stage is 1933 after the abolition. Queenie: Godmother of Harlem It tells her story that has been largely forgotten until now. Mob unfolds like her thriller and is peppered with flashbacks to St. Clair’s childhood as she maintains her empire as her rival gangs ramp up on her number racket. chasing the fight for

Columba and author Aurelie Levy conducted intensive research into the life of St. Clair and the times in which she lived. However, they admit there were some details they had to fill out. It is unknown if she actually encountered the clan. But by incorporating that scene, the authors explore the racial dynamics of the times St. Clair, who spoke English with a French accent, fought, and her character’s naivety about being a black woman in America. I was able to.

“Because she’s from Martinique… she thinks she can pull it off. She thinks she’s seen as someone French or someone from the Caribbean, not African-American. ‘ said Columba. , she likens the characters’ encounters with racism in America to culture shock.

Columba and Levi included many real-life characters, including St. Clair’s henchman Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, and rival Mafia dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano. Columba invented a white Jewish male character named Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld has spearheaded her business, playing a fatherly role to St. Her Claire. Levy explained that this was necessary because, as a black woman, St. Clair likely could not have made her own investment.

“We felt a huge responsibility,” Levy said, reflecting on the writing process.[Her story is] Very dense historically. And we had to find out as much as we could about her and invent the rest of her,” she said.

St. Claire also controlled her tales so carefully that it is impossible to know what is true and what is embellished.Queenie was a larger-than-life gangster and fashion icon. So bless you.

In 1912 St. Clair boarded a ship bound for New York City. By the 1920s, St. Clare had established his racket numbers in Harlem and within a few years was making an estimated $200,000 a year, now he is making $3.5 million.

As her empire and fortune grew, St. Clair created a persona of wealth and power through the advertisements she bought new york amsterdam news, a widely distributed black newspaper. The advertisement featured a picture of St. Clair in fine clothing and jewelry.

“It was propaganda,” Levy said. “I had to be pretty smart to understand the power of images.”

However, St. Clair used the ad to defend the impoverished black residents of Harlem. A mini opinion article was included. In this way, she helped educate the community about citizenship and voting rights. Her business was also lucrative, as blacks at the time were largely excluded from participating in legal forms of investment. Banks often refused service and refused loans to blacks. As a result, many viewed illegal lotteries as one of her few avenues for building wealth.

“I think what struck us about her was how positive and precocious and visionary she was,” Levy said. “And whatever she left you, she left on purpose. I think she was very careful about that.”

In this graphic novel, Stephanie St. Clair is portrayed as a bright, bright woman with an extraordinary talent for numbers, from a precocious child desperate to escape her farm life in Martinique to a ruthless and gentle woman. The figure of her who transforms is drawn.

Levi and Columba said they wanted to avoid the pitfalls of a biopic when telling the story of St. Clair.

“Unfortunately, when we come across figures of people of color, we tend to oversimplify and put them at ease. They either have to be really bad, or they have to be really good. And that’s what makes them human.” Not really,’ said Columba. [Saint Clair]To be complex is just to be human. ”

“And I think nothing proves that there have been tough times more than the person you needed to survive as a woman and as a black woman. [one-dimensional]’ said Levi.

Columba first learned about St. Clair through his mother Luciane, a former schoolteacher and immigrant from Martinique.

“My mother always [making] A point to introduce someone from the Caribbean…who she felt was a force in the culture [were] “She always wanted us to know more about our culture.”

The moment Columba learned about St. Clair, she was immediately fascinated and wanted to know more.

“When you are born in Martinique, just before the 20th century, your options in life are limited, and it takes an incredible amount of heart and tenacity to think you deserve more. , [Saint Clair]at a very young age… she decided to imagine something bigger,” Columba said.

She and Levi hope Queenie’s story resonates with others.

“There’s something very exciting about someone who was so persistent and decided they couldn’t put her in the box she was in,” Columba said.

“She rewrote her story. That’s how I like to imagine her. As someone who controls the story,” Levy repeated.

Edited by Mallory Yu