http://www.harlemgodfathe...riting.htm

My Reasons for Writing This Book

(aka Frank Lucas is a jerk!)





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When I heard that the Harlem dope dealer, Frank Lucas, wrote a magazine article a few years back claiming that he was Bumpy’s right hand man, and that Bumpy died in his arms I was upset. He lied.

Now they've done a movie starring Denzel Washington called “American Gangster” which tells the life of Frank Lucas and will perpetrate that lie. I’m now steaming.

And when I watched the BET episode of American Gangster featuring Frank Lucas I was furious the people with me wanted to turn off the television. Saying that he stayed with me and Bumpy for six months. Did anyone notice that he said we lived on the corner of 121st Street, and then he pointed to a brownstone and said, "Right there. My boss lived right there?" Well, Bumpy and I lived on 120th Street. 2 West 120th Street to be exact. And we lived in an apartment building (apartment 3I), not a brownstone. Now do you see how Frank lies?

Frank was little more than a flunky to Bumpy, and a flunky whom Bumpy never fully trusted. Frank -- Bumpy said -- was a liar, and it’s easier to trust a thief than a liar. A thief, Bumpy reasoned, steals because he needs money; a liar lies for the hell of it.

Now why would Frank tell such lies? Because he figures that since Junie Byrd, Finley Hoskins and Sonny Chance -- all of whom were then when Bumpy died -- are all dead and there’s no one alive to reveal the fact that he’s lying. Maybe he’s figured I’m dead, too. Well, he’s wrong – I’m 93, and old – but I’m still kicking (not as high as I once did), and I have all of my mental faculties.

There have been legends, myths, and rumors flying around about Bumpy for decades, and I’ve never spoken to confirm or deny any – even when the movie “Hoodlum” was released in 1997, and contained all kinds of factual errors about the man I love. But now I’ve finally decided to speak out. To set the record straight. To tell the truth and damn the devil. To let the world know about the real Bumpy Johnson.

Harlem Godfather: The Rap On My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson will be the first complete biography of a man who for years was Harlem’s best kept, and most cherished secret. While most of the world is familiar with -- and fascinated by -- the organized crime organizations of the Italian, Irish, Jewish and Russian communities, this will be a rare glimpse into the organized underworld of African America.

Though up in age, I do keep abreast of current events (I read at least two newspapers everyday!) and I believe that with the recent explosion of urban street books I know that such a biography will do well. After all, Bumpy is one of the people who writers model their fictional characters on. There have even been hip-hop artists who have included Bumpy’s names in their lyrics, and one artist has even taken the name Bumpy Johnson as his rap name.

Karen E. Quinones Miller is my collaborator for Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. Karen grew up in Harlem, and she met my husband when she was a young child. Karen actually started doing research on my husband back in 1993 because she was interested in writing a book about him.

Karen was journalist for nine years, and – using the Freedom of Information Act – she’s obtained Bumpy’s FBI files as well as files maintained by the Drug and Enforcement Agency. Karen has also obtained his state and federal prison files.

The 1997 movie “Hoodlum” introduced America to Bumpy, but though the film was entertaining, it dealt with only one small period of his life -- and contained grave factual errors. The white mob, for example, did not loosen its hold on Harlem after Schultz’s death. And the movie never let the audience in on the fact that Bumpy was involved in much more than number running. He had a hand in almost every illegal enterprise operating in Harlem.

Nor did the film show Bumpy’s close relationships with luminaries of the day, including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Billie Holiday, Sugar Ray Robinson, Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Sydney Poitier (Bumpy was godfather to his oldest daughter!), Joe Louis, Billy Daniels, Sarah Vaughn, Ethel Waters, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Imiru Baraka.

Most unfortunately, the movie never tackled the contradictions that surrounded Bumpy Johnson. How did he, and the people around him, reconcile the fact that although he certainly did much for the community, he also was as much a predator as the white gangsters he fought so hard to keep at bay? How did I reconcile this contradiction?

It should be noted that Harlem Godfather: The Rap On My Husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson will be as much about Harlem, as it is about Bumpy Johnson. My husband will be the through line, but in each chapter of the book – which will essentially cover 1916 to 1968 – this biography will also be describing the intellectual, cultural, political and criminal aspects of this country’s best known black community.

Let me also say that I’m sure that even reading this you may have some doubts as to whether I’m capable of writing a book. Well, yes, I am. No, let me rephrase that. I don’t know anything about writing a book, and that’s why I have Karen. I am, however, capable of telling Karen what needs to be in this book. I might be 93, but I’m not senile, I don’t have Alzheimer’s disease, and I don’t suffer from dementia. And if any of you doubt this, make sure you come to the book launch party for Harlem Godfather, and I'll tell you myself.

I absolutely love to talk!



From the upcoming book Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (copyright 2007 - Mayme Johnson)
[Edited 11/8/07 9:48am]