For Black History Month, Michigan Public’s Morning Edition is featuring conversations with Michigan authors who have written new books about African-American history.
In her book, When Detroit Played the Numbers: Gambling’s History and Cultural Impact on the Motor City, Felicia B. George looks at the rise and fall of illegal gambling operations in the city.
The Library of Michigan has selected it for its 2025 Michigan Notable Books list.
George is an anthropologist and teaches at Wayne State University. She spoke with Stateside’s April Baer in 2024.
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April Baer: I have to say, before I picked up your book, I was totally unaware of historically how very long lotteries have been with us. Maybe for younger folks who who’ve grown up with the legal lottery systems that exist today, can you explain where lotteries came from?
The cover of Felicia George’s book, which was named one of Michigan’s Notable Books by the Library of Michigan.
Felicia B. George: So it’s something that we adopted from England when we came over here in the United States to build the states. It was a fast and easy way to generate revenue without raising taxes. So the United States was literally built on a lot of different lotteries. It paid for roads. It paid for churches, hospitals, universities. You name it, and it was used to pay for it. It even helped pay for the American Revolution.
AB: The bulk of the book addresses this period starting in the early 20th century. Could you lay out for us what you consider to be the dawn of lotteries in the numbers in Detroit?
FBG: Eventually, like with everything, fraud kind of creeped its way into the lotteries. And so a lot of the states make them illegal. And so, after the Civil War, they were illegal. You’re not supposed to play the lotteries by the 1890s. They were done. For a while, Detroit had some illegal lottery going on and they declared that it was dead. And so it was dead just — probably for a few years — in the early 1900s.
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But in 1920, something really interesting occurred. John Roxborough was a Black man that came from a elite family. He had his own business where he was a bail bondsman, and one day he went to bail out a numbers operator. And this numbers operator said to him, “Hey, you guys don’t have a policy game.” And that was another name for the numbers game. He said, “I can teach you this and you will make a ton of money.” And sure enough, he learned how to run this establishment from this numbers operator. And he promoted it to Detroit and it just blew up from there.
AB: You give us all kinds of evidence throughout the book that the numbers and lottery games were something that, very much like today with legal lotteries, everyone played. Rich people, poor people, all races. Another thing that you bring up pretty early in the book is pushing back and questioning the concept of gaming as predatory in Black communities. And you point out many different examples of how the games kept money in the community.
FBG: It was really important for Black people to have a financial institution. We’re talking about a period of time when redlining was going on, when Blacks were denied employment, when they were denied loans for businesses, where there was not money to be used to go to colleges and universities. And so these numbers men here in Detroit really considered themselves race men. Even though they became very rich and they made a lot of profit from it, they put it back into the community.
“The United States was literally built on a lot of different lotteries… It even helped pay for the American Revolution.”
Author Felicia B. George
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A lot of these men would donate money to the Urban League, to the NAACP. And they would make sure that these organizations had money so that they could keep running. They provided scholarship funds for students. They gave loans for businesses, nightclubs, restaurants. When the Depression hit, these same men made sure that they were feeding the homeless and the people that didn’t have food. And so they really, really gave back economically and socially to the communities that they served.
AB: Felicia, the book also gives us a lot of detail on the very complicated relationship between “policy,” and “the numbers,” and law enforcement. Thank you also for explaining the policy was how people talked about the games where lottery numbers were selected, I guess in the way that we think about it now. And the numbers were a bit more of something that involved published results from from different kinds of things. I never really understood that distinction before.
Can you explain law enforcement’s relationship with illegal gambling in Detroit?
FBG: In order for the numbers game to be played, they had to have protection, and they had to have a way to ensure that they wouldn’t be raided and lose their money. And so they had a number of people, including the mayor of the city of Detroit, the sheriff for Wayne County, the prosecutor for Wayne County, and a number of police officers for Detroit Police Department were on their payroll.
AB: There’s a whole chapter devoted to a period in which John Roxborough … was indicted. And all of a sudden a lot of things that had been going on below the surface were very much more public. Can you explain what played out at the trial and the impact that it had on the numbers in the city?
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FBG: There was a woman who worked for one of the Irish number houses, and she was a divorcee and was having an affair with the manager of one of these numbers houses. And he pretty much gave her a Dear John letter and, told her, “Hey, you know, I’m no good. I’m breaking up with you. You can do better than me.”
And she met with him one final time to give him an opportunity to come back to her, and he wouldn’t. And so she picked up her child and she committed suicide and killed her child. But before she did this, she sent letters all over the city. She sent it to the Detroit News, the Detroit Times, the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan State Police, to the FBI. And in these letters, she said, Hey, there’s a lot of bias that’s going on in the City of Detroit. The police department is a part of it. They’re being paid off. These are the players. This is what’s going on.
When this hit the newspapers, the public was enraged and then a lot of the numbers men were exposed. John Roxborough, who was [famed boxer] Joe Louis’s manager, and a whole bunch of other numbers operators. And so they were indicted and eventually convicted. At that point, you start seeing some of the power that the Black numbers operators had, they really, really started to diminish.
“Even though they became very rich and they made a lot of profit from it, they put it back into the community.”
Author Felicia B. George on how Black numbers men in Detroit supported their communities in the early 20th century.
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AB: One of the things that was so poignant about the book was seeing how the story of numbers games and policy were really entwined with the story of America and the larger story of Black Detroit. What was the confluence of how the lottery was changing in the years when Detroit’s neighborhoods, Black neighborhoods, were changing as well?
FBG: Before urban renewal, you have these clusters where Blacks were forced to live, and so you have these communities and numbers were a huge part of those communities. They were a way for people to socialize, to bond together, not just the economic part or the entertainment part. And so you would have these numbers writers, they would go door to door. They were the ones that, you know, would kind of pass on whatever news was going on in the community. And so they were important men and women in the community.
And when urban renewal comes, now these communities are being broken up. And so these number writers — who have been a part of the community for years that everybody knows who they are, plays the numbers with them — they’re now gone. The telephone had a part in it. You know, now people are calling in their numbers. And so with urban renewal, you’ve lost the sense of community for a number of reasons. And you can just kind of see how it gradually impacted not just those communities, but the relationships in the game overall.
Editor’s note: Quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity. This transcript and the audio version of the interview near the top of this page are excerpted from a longer conversation that originally appeared on Stateside. You can find that interview here.
Voting on finalists open from June 22 through July 20
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What is the barbershop in Metro Detroit? We’ve got our finalists for this year’s Vote 4 The Best category for best barbershop.
Here are this year’s finalists:
Andino’s Barbershop in St. Clair Shores
Bennies Barbershop in Trenton
Chivalry Barber Co. in Royal Oak
The Garage Cuts and Coffee in Plymouth
Walter T’s Grooming Company in Waterford Township
We received more than 16,700 nominations across our 80 Vote 4 The Best categories this year. Each category was then narrowed down to five finalists.
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Click here to view the full list of finalists.
Now that nominations are over, voting on finalists can begin. Voting is open from June 22 through July 20, and you can vote for each category once per day during that time.
Click here to vote for finalists in all 80 categories.
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About the Authors
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Derick Hutchinson
Derick is the Digital Executive Producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.
As part of our 30th anniversary celebration last month, we asked Hour Detroit readers to vote for their favorite covers from the magazine’s history. With all votes tabulated, here are the top 10 Hour Detroit covers, as voted by our loyal readers.
10. May 2022
Our May 2022 cover story by Nolan Bianhi highlighted the rise of Detroit City Football Club. The cover itself, photographed by Sal Rodriguez and featuring DCFC’s rabid Northern Guard Supporters, also birthed the very funny #EdDuckerForever social media trend.
As explained by Editor-In-Chief Kate Walsh in her Editor’s Letter in the June 2022 issue, “When the DCFC fans noticed a fan holding a scarf that said “Ed Ducker Forever,” some were left scratching their heads…Most people figured out that Ed Ducker was born to cover a profanity front and center on our cover, but they didn’t leave it at that. #EdDuckerForever became a thing on Twitter, with DCFC fans and others creating a backstory for this fictional character, including tales of his prowess on the pitch and in the sheets, saving (or dropping) babies, his love of beer, etc.”
Truthfully, the whole incident is symbolic of the overall vibe at any DCFC match. If you’ve never attended one yet, what are you waiting for?
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Another piece of trivia: former Hour Detroit digital editor Christina Clark is among the group of fans — she’s the one with pink hair. Coincidentally, the photo was taken before she joined the magazine.
9. July 2023
Featuring a stunning aerial photograph by William Cunningham, the cover for the July 2023 issue of Hour Detroit just draws you in with its beauty. The cover story by Kate Townley chronicled the many reasons (65, to be exact) why the Great Lakes are so great. Frankly, there are plenty more reasons to add to this already extensive list.
8. April 2024
Like the DCFC cover, the cover for the April 2024 issue, created by Ryan Olbrysh, has an incredible kinetic energy. Based around Detroit hosting the NFL Draft, the “City Guide” cover story explored all of the details any visitor to metro Detroit should know and featured contributions from Bill Dow, Dana White, Juliana Lumaj, Mickey Lyons, and Jack Thomas.
7. May 2020
For the May 2020 issue, Hour Detroit chronicled the impact of COVID-19 on metro Detroit in a nine-page special report by Steve Friess, Amy Haimerl, Joanne C. Gerstner, and Ashley Winn. The cover depicts the Spirit of Detroit monument wearing a mask and hospital scrubs. The poignant image is an original oil painting by Luke Mack for Hour Detroit.
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6. January 2018
Abdul El-Sayed graced the January 2018 cover of Hour Detroit, was profiled by Lou Blouin, and photographed by Matthew LaVere. At that time, he was a 33-year-old Michigan gubernatorial candidate gaining lots of attention for his rising grassroots campaign.
The former director of the Detroit Health Department lost the Democratic nomination to Gretchen Whitmer. However, the man some thought could be the first Muslim governor in the United States now has a chance at becoming the first Muslim person elected to the United States Senate. El-Sayed, now 41, is in a very competitive 2026 Democratic primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Primary elections for the open Michigan Senate seat vacated by a retiring Sen. Gary Peters will take place on Aug. 4, with the Democratic and Republican primary winners facing off in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
5. February 2021
On this cover photographed by Julia Pickett, contributor Steve Friess summed up Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 rather perfectly: “A pandemic. An ‘SNL’ parody. A kidnapping plot. And mean tweets from the president. Did anyone have a more bizarre and intense 2020 than ’the woman in Michigan’?” Friess’ cover story on Whitmer explored her 2020 experiences and describing them as “surreal” could be the most apt use of that word ever.
4. January 2024
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell headlined our annual “Detroiters” list in 2024, which highlights the people making unique impacts on metro Detroit. His striking portrait, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, appeared on the cover, with contributor Jim McFarlin detailing the rise of Campbell becoming one of the most beloved Detroit sports figures in recent history.
3. June 2005
Detroit has been very fortunate to have some incredible local news anchors over the years. WDIV-TV’s Carmen Harlan is certainly among the most iconic. A Detroit native, Harlan joined WDIV-TV in 1978 as a general assignment reporter. Three years later, she became an anchor. Paired with Mort Crim, another legendary Detroit news anchor, Harlan continued to serve as anchor until her retirement in 2016. Photographed by Roy Ritchie, Harlan appeared on the cover of Hour Detroit in June 2005 for our “Best of Detroit” issue. In the 2005 edition of our readers’ poll, Harlan won three honors: Best local TV anchor, best TV hairdo (female), and best-looking TV personality.
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2. April 2026
Our latest “City Guide” feature took on the theme of “Hidden Detroit.” In it, we examined lesser-known aspects and treasures in metro Detroit. The cover was of Tintoretto’s “The Dreams of Men,” which is featured in the Detroit Institute of Arts, but it’s in a surprising location. If you’re looking to find out where to spot this gorgeous painting, Jack Thomas and Kate Walsh share its location in their piece appropriately titled “Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.”
1. June 2019
The 2019 “Best of Detroit” list served as a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away in Aug. 2018 at age 76. Not only did the “Queen of Soul” win the honor of “Detroit Legend,” but she appeared on the cover via an original oil painting by Kim Frank Fujiwara. (Fujiwara won in the category of “Best Fine Artist.”) Simply put: This is a breathtaking cover. We admire and agree with our readers’ outstanding taste in their choice for the best Hour Detroit cover.
DETROIT – Detroit first responders and several private citizens are being credited with helping rescue a dozen people after multiple sailboats capsized in the Detroit River near Belle Isle during severe weather last week.
The incident occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. on June 10 as a line of thunderstorms moved through southeast Michigan, bringing strong winds to the area.
According to the Detroit Fire Department, crews were dispatched to Belle Isle near the beach following reports of overturned boats and people in the water.
Firefighters, EMS personnel, Engine 27, and Fireboat 2, known as the Sivad Johnson, responded to the scene.
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When crews arrived, they found multiple small sailboats overturned in the river.
Officials said 20 people aboard seven sailboats were involved in the incident.
Twelve people were rescued from the water, while eight others safely returned aboard two boats that remained upright.
Fireboat 2 rescued four people from the water.
The Detroit Police Department Harbormaster rescued two more, while a private boater assisted three people. Another three were brought to safety by a nearby boat club vessel.
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The operator of the sailing group said as many as 26 people were on the water before the storm arrived, with six making it back to shore on their own before rescue efforts began.
Despite the dangerous conditions, no serious injuries were reported. Officials said all rescued individuals declined medical treatment.
Authorities praised the coordinated response among firefighters, police officers, boat club members, and private boaters who assisted during the emergency.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” said Detroit Fire Department Fireboat Operator Daniel Familant. “To be honest, we do make a lot of the saves by the private boaters out there that are fishing or just having a good time, and people were out there screaming, ‘Help, help,’ and there they go, so everyone helps out. It’s an all-hands effort.”
Emergency crews remained on scene until everyone involved was accounted for.
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Officials noted that one member of the Fireboat 2 crew was serving on the vessel for the first time during the rescue operation.
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