African-American organized crime: Difference between revisions

| founding location = United States

| years active = Late 19th century–present

| ethnic makeup = African American

}}

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, '''African American organized crime''' emerged following the [[First Great Migration|first]] and [[Second Great Migration|second large-scale migration]] of [[African Americans]] from the [[Southern United States]] to major cities of the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], and later the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]. In many of these newly established communities and neighborhoods, criminal activities such as [[illegal gambling]] (e.g. the [[numbers racket]]), [[speakeasies]] and were seen in the post-[[World War I]] and [[Prohibition era]]s. Although the majority of these businesses in African American neighborhoods were operated by African Americans, it is often unclear the extent to which these operations were run independently of the larger criminal organizations of the time.

 

=== Black Mafia ===

 

The group didn't target everyday citizens, but targeted other criminals. They were known for their violent crimes and used murder as a means to keep that reputation. They used the numbers racket to control their territories and gambling. They also created fake community groups, such as the Council for Youth and Urban Development as fronts to receive government funding.<ref name=":1" />