TY - BOOK ID - 134740064 TI - Dream Books and Gamblers : Black Women's Work in Chicago's Policy Game. PY - 2022 SN - 9780252053832 0252053834 0252086872 PB - Champaign : University of Illinois Press, DB - UniCat KW - Lotteries KW - Women, Black KW - Informal sector (Economics) KW - History KW - Economic conditions KW - Social conditions KW - E-books UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:134740064 AB - "Ubiquitous illegal lotteries known as policy flourished in Chicago’s Black community during the overlapping waves of the Great Migration. Policy “queens” owned stakes in lucrative operations while women writers and clerks canvased the neighborhood, passed out winnings, and kept the books. Elizabeth Schroeder Schlabach examines the complexities of Black women’s work in policy gambling. Policy provided Black women with a livelihood for themselves and their families. At the same time, navigating gender expectations, aggressive policing, and other hazards of the informal economy led them to refashion ideas about Black womanhood and respectability. Policy earnings also funded above-board enterprises ranging from neighborhood businesses to philanthropic institutions, and Schlabach delves into the various ways Black women straddled the illegal policy business and reputable community involvement. Vivid and revealing, Dream Books and Gamblers tells the stories of Black women in the underground economy and how they used their work to balance the demands of living and laboring in Black Chicago." -- Publisher's description. ER -