Crime

Forest Whitaker portrays gangster Bumpy Johnson in ‘Godfather of Harlem’

ROLLINGOUT.COM — During times of oppression in the Black community, there have arisen both men and women who can best be described as an “anti-heroes.”

Published

5 years ago

April 3, 2019

Mo Barnes

By Mo Barnes

During times of oppression in the Black community, there have arisen both men and women who can best be described as an “anti-heroes.” Among the most notorious, was legendary Black gangster Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, known on the streets of Harlem as Bumpy Johnson, the “Godfather of Harlem.” Now, Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker will play Johnson in a new mini-series on the Epix cable channel entitled “Godfather of Harlem.”

Mo Barnes

Bumpy Johnson has been the subject of many popular movies over the decades, with variations of his name and life. In the original 1971 movie Shaft, iconic actor Moses Gunn played a character based on Johnson named Bumpy Jonas. The most recent portrayal of Johnson was as a major character in the movie American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington. In that movie, Johnson was portrayed by Clarence Williams III and showed how Washington’s character, Frank Lucas, was mentored by the aging gangster to become his successor.

In Harlem, Johnson worked against the Italian Mafia as it battled to take over the illegal gambling racket known in the Black community by various names including “the bug,” “policy,” or more colloquially as the “numbers game.”

Gangsters like Johnson were the brains and the muscle behind the racket and became rich. So rich they gave back to the community in several ways, from giving out turkeys on Thanksgiving, protection from crooked cops and even helping with funeral costs. The problem is, in some cases, Bumpy Johnson was the reason for the funeral in the first place.

But when the mafia decided that they wanted a piece of the action, Bumpy Johnson fought back with a fury. It resulted in a negotiated treaty and allowed Johnson to make money from the heroin trade in Harlem. Johnson’s criminal activities saw him arrested more than 40 times, including two federal arrests that saw him serve serious time. After a ten year sentence, he

Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, aka Bumpy Johnson (Source: USP Leavenworth /Federal Dept. Of Corrections)

returned to Harlem and saw the streets in turmoil. Not only did he need to get his criminal empire back in order, he realized he needed to help the community. Johnson even met with Malcolm X to handle situations regarding police abuse and corruption.

Bumpy Johnson died on July 7, 1968, at the age of 62. He was having a meal that included coffee, a chicken leg, and grits, at Wells Restaurant in Harlem at 2 a.m. He clutched his chest and died of an apparent massive heart attack as his meal was being served. Frank Lucas, his successor to the title of “Godfather of Harlem,” told rolling out during a July 2016 interview, “God bless Bumpy Johnson. He showed me the way. I went in with both feet from the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta, [to] the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Burma, Rangoon, Hong Kong and Malaysia until I got what I wanted.”

The trailer “Godfather of Harlem” can be viewed via the link below:

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.