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Erma Louise Hill (April 16, 1924-October 18, 1968) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Erma Louise Hill, was a liberated woman, known on the streets of Harlem as “New York Red” or simply “Red.” She was one of the most successful Number Writers and Bankers in Harlem during the 1960s. She moved from welfare to wealth by generating millions of dollars in revenue for herself, her associates and the Genevese Mafia Family. She was born on April 16, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. The same year the future President of the United States Jimmy Carter was born there. She was a very attractive, extremely intelligent and resourceful woman. She found the courage, wisdom and independence to make her own rules; often against societal norms and practices. She lived by them and died by them. She was never arrested or convicted of any crime or offence during her entire career in Harlem. Mostly with law enforcement assistance, she managed to stay under the authorities’ radar while most in law enforcement knew who she was and what she did to make a living.

Early Life She came of age during the Great Depression under difficult family circumstances in rural Plains, Georgia. This strong-willed young woman understood that education was the only vehicle that would overcome growing up in a small Georgia town with few chances for advancement or opportunities. She was raised by strong, hard-working women with keen thrift ethics, but who were forced to live by racist white male rules. She refused to abide.

Her Grandmother Victoria Hill known as “Ma Babe,” was a wise and persevering woman who made sure her family was fed, clothed and had a roof over their heads. These were very difficult times especially after her husband, Robert Hill, was shot and killed over a dice call by his nephew.

Her mother Freddie Mae Hill, known as “Daught,” who was only 13 years old at the time of her birth was a loving, hard-working mother but with one major flaw. She loved to party and brought home the party favors in the form of children conceived for her oldest daughter Erma to raise and take care of.

Distraught over having little or no personal life, Erma decides to kill her brothers, sisters and herself. She forces them to sit in front of the fireplace fire and throws a handful of bullets into the fire. Miraculously, no one is killed. Ma Babe punishes her severely, but refuses to tell her mother. Ma Babe asked her oldest daughter, Nora, for help. Her Aunt Nora sends for her to visit New York City in the summer to give her a break. Resurrected she returns, continues school and becomes a math whiz, graduates from the seventh grade and becomes the first in her family to go that far in school.

Against Ma Babe’s wishes, she sells moonshine in her uncle Fass’ Road-House in Plains, Georgia. Unmarried Uncle “Fass,” better known as Arthur Hill, is a very resourceful and hardworking guy, who helps the family make ends meet by running a “Roadhouse” behind Main Street in Plains, Georgia. He takes Erma under his wing, teaches her how to use her skills to dodge Federal Revenuers, run a business on the edge of the law and survive in a hostile world.

Erma’s close neighbor and trusted mentor, is a very old Creek Indian Medicine Man who also introduces her to his metaphysical world. His parents were killed being force-marched to Oklahoma on the “Trail of Tears.” He refused to leave Sumter County, Georgia to honor them. He stated to Erma that she must make her own rules and not live by the rules of her former slave masters. She confesses to her mentor that her rules state her pleasures come first and every young man is fair game; including married ones.

The Road-House was frequented by everyone, white or Black, in the county including the Sumter County Sheriff’s son. He and his friend gang rapped Erma’s friend coming from school after giving her a ride on the long desolate road from Americus to Plains, Georgia.

Six months later, they both attacked Erma and her friend again on the same road as Erma was walking her home from school. They both ran into the woods trying to escape being rapped; her friend for the second time. Erma could not out run the sheriff’s son. She stopped running and distracted him by pulling up her dress in submission. She told him to pull down his pants, when he did, she beat him senseless with a fallen tree branch. Hearing her friend crying while being raped for the second time, she found them in the woods and they both beat the rapist tirelessly. They knew they were in deep trouble. When Erma returned home, Ma Babe (Erma’s Grandmother) told her to pack a bag and prepare to leave Plains. She escaped just ahead of the County Sheriff as he pulled into her driveway.

Escaping to Atlanta, Georgia, and Sweet Auburn Avenue “The Southern Black Mecca,” she is befriended by an older gentleman, Roy Wiley, who was also married. He recommends her for a job as a cashier at the Royal Movie Theater in the middle of “Sweet Auburn Ave.” It is in the center of all of the street action in Atlanta. She takes full advantage of it by further developing her street survival skills for profit. Initially, she has no romantic interest in Roy, because she hit the jackpot in Atlanta with available men. WWII brings more men into her life than she can safely handle. She worked during the evenings and partied all-night. She was burning the candle at both ends. But the fast life style soon catches up with her. Too many men have asked her for her hand and she turned them all down. Roy suggests she slow down and she starts to date him; a married man again. Her past finally catches up with her. The sheriff’s son tracks her down on a rainy night after work and attacks her. Allegedly, Roy Wiley arrives just in time and shoots him dead. Afraid and confused, she decides to take the next train to New York City. But she is tired of running from someone or something. Roy introduces her to some of the most influential Negros in Atlanta, including the iconic Ms. Carrie Cunningham, Hotel Entrepreneur and future owner of the famous Peacock Club. Mrs. Cunningham gives her the job as her concierge in her hotel; in addition to her job in the movie theater. Then she becomes pregnant by Roy Wiley, who was still married, but now separated. Now, slowed down by the birth of her son Eddie Roy. She realizes, she has to care for more than herself and starts to develop a more conventional lifestyle.

Roy suggests he should get a divorce and that they should marry. She would not have it. She had a new man in her life; a young son-Eddie Roy Wiley Hill-Butch-Kitt-Cowboy. Roy Wiley’s wife heard of his new son and threatens to kill him and his bastard son. Erma felt it was time to leave Atlanta to protect her son’s future.

She contacted her Aunt Nora and told her she was ready to return to New York City. She loved New York City. She purchased two Silver Meteor tickets from Atlanta to NYC. The Silver Meteor is the Amtrak train that runs from Miami, Florida to New York City. As soon as she arrived in New York City, she immediately saw the devastating scene of heroin addicts laying on the street in front of Penn Station. This scene cements a life-long passion against drug dealers. Aunt Nora was doing very well taking care of a wealthy Jewish family’s children in Forest Hills Queens.

Aunt Nora found Erma a job through her Jewish family she worked for managing a Kent Cleaners store on 8th Avenue and 138th Street in Harlem. The store was having serious problems turning a profit. It wasn’t due to a lack of business; the clerks didn’t know how to count change accurately. She taught the staff how to count charge in their heads without using a pad, pencil or machine. The store turned around in three months. She started dating again. Yes, a married customer. His name was Clifford Bodie and he was a chauffeur for a well-known Attorney downtown. Their affair was hot, too hot and she was pregnant again within a year with Paul Bernard. Things started to go downhill between them when she could no longer work due to her pregnancy. He suggested she go on welfare. Initially, she said no, but it was too difficult to manage with two kids and no husband. They broke up over that suggestion and the parade of different men followed. She lost her self-esteem, motivation and her vision of an independent prosperous future. With no future insight, her son became both her most voice-full critic and supporter. He constantly reminded her who she was. That what he saw in front of him was not her. He began to have his own growing pains cultivated by the streets of Harlem that she had to deal with very forcibly. Then Vernetta, her third child, was born and Erma wasn’t sure who the father was. How low can you go? she said to herself. “Bullets in the Fire” now becomes a poetic metaphor for her life.

The Department of Welfare forced her landlord to find her and her family a safe place to stay or they were going to have him arrested for reckless endangerment. He refused to repair a gas leak from their refrigerator that almost killed them in their sleep. Finally, they moved to 115th and it was a first for her. She had her own one-bedroom apartment solely for her family and self.

Introduction to the Numbers Game Erma was always good at math and excellent at saving her money. She managed to save at least 10% of whatever money she received. A lesson her Uncle Fass taught her since she was a young woman working in his Road-House. She started to pay numbers for entertainment. Then she becomes romantically involved with a fellow number player, a Merchant Mariner and he was not married. Upon returning from a long voyage, he takes Erma and her children to new apartment in the Bronx and proposes to them. The kids said yes, but Erma says no. When they leave, Eddie asks his mother, “why no, Mama? Her response was, “he stutters.”

Things started to take a serious turn, because she became good at playing single action and started to earn money at it. That’s playing one number at a time. The local number banker, Steve Michael, noticed it too, because she was hurting his Number Bank, He also noticed that a number of his customers would discuss their plays with her and they would hit often. He offered her a job writing numbers for him. It would kill two birds with one stone. It would increase her salary dramatically and stop the bleeding in his Number Bank.

In the meantime, she signed for her son Eddie to enter the US Army at age seventeen just before she reluctantly accepted the number writing job from Steve. Her son actually suggested it to her, in-jest, because she spent more time in the street playing single action than she did at home. Steve opened a new number hole for her to write numbers in and she was an instant success within six months. Her street name became “New York Red.” Red, because of the henna tint color in her custom-made wigs she wore. She became one of Steve’s most productive number writers and she makes a name for herself as one of Harlem’s most celebrated number hustlers; as the money comes flowing in. Steve made a money deal with the captain of the 28th Precinct that she would never be arrested. Also, a number of bigtime Harlem Drug Dealers placed bets with her. One bet was the largest number bet ever made in Harlem at the time; $100,000. Normally, she refused to take drug dealers number bets using “too busy” as an excuse. She hated drug dealers. She was writing about $10,000 to $15,000 in numbers per day and Steve number business was taking in about $50,000 to $60,000 per day. But a news article published in the New York Times, in June of 1964, caused the DA’s office to come down on them hard including the police officers they paid off. The article was entitled “Dimes Make Millions for the Numbers Racket” by Charles Grutzner.

Introduction to the Genevese Mafia Family Steve promoted her several times. Finally, he introduced her to his partners in the Genevese Mafia Family, The 116th Street Crew. Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno was the Head Capo of the Genovese Mafia family. She didn’t know it at the time, it was one of the oldest and most vicious mob families in the country. Steve promoted her to controller over her fellow number writers. This caused hurt feelings and friction, especially since she was new and a woman. Now she was making more money from her salary and tips than her associates. Her and her children were living like kings and queens, eating the best of foods, new clothing, a new apartment, private schools and a hot new car for her oldest son. Welfare become a cover for not having a legitimate job and she gave most of the welfare money away to needy customers. She went from welfare to wealth-from poverty to prosperity in a short time. But she never forgot from where she came and the basic principles of personal money management her family taught her.

Her promotions were getting her deeper involved in the number business. Now, as controller, it was her job to proof the runners and the bank on daily basis and deliver Fat Tony’s share to the mob on the Eastside. She was given additional responsibilities of paying off judges and lawyers at the One Hundred Centre Street Courts downtown.

Police help and corruption A young Irish NYPD detective befriended her. He was an alcoholic and she worked with him to get himself clean. He didn’t like working the number rackets, because there was too much corruption and too little crime. He wanted to do real police work in narcotics. It became apparent the heroin addiction problem in Harlem was getting worse. There were rumors that there was connection between the number bankers and the drug dealers in Harlem. Steve promised her he wasn’t in the drug business and he wouldn’t get involved in it in the future. She held him to his word. Many of her customers’ neighborhoods were being overrun with drugs. She started to collect intelligence on drug dealing from Harlem to the South Bronx. She exchanged the information for the Irish detective’s help in squashing her fellow number writers court cases downtown. She killed two birds with one stone.

The Irish detective was a good cop, he refused to except under the table graft money. His fellow officers refused to work with him, because they said they would starve without it. With the information she provided to him from her customers, he received a promotion to deputy inspector and was assigned to head the South Bronx Narcotics Division which extended into Harlem.

The Mafia kills her mentor Many years prior, a friend of Steve’s loaned him ten thousand dollars before being sent to prison for drug dealing. Steve used the money to purchase the 115th Street number francize from Fat Tony of the Genevese Mafia Family. His friend was just released from jail. He asked Steve to loan him $200,000 to get his drug business operational once again. Steve told him no, he was on longer in the drug business. But he was persistent, he convinced Steve to ask Fat Tony to arrange with his brother to advance the drugs and he would pay him back. Tony had two rogue NYPD detectives on his payroll intercept Steve’s friend with the drugs. The rogue detectives gave him a choice of going back to prison or leaving the bags of drugs in the police car and getting out of the car at the next traffic light. Steve never heard from his friend again. Tony demanded that Steve repay him for the drugs. Steve knew his friend was setup and he refused to pay Fat Tony. Six months later, Fat Tony had Steve killed after meeting with him on 96th Street and Central Park West in front of Steve’s co-op apartment building. Red was devastated, because Steve promised her no drug dealing. Steve’s wife, told Red that Steve said, “If anything happened to me, I want Red to take over the business.” Being a Number Banker was not her vision of a promising future, it paid very well, but this was a rough business with too many pitfalls and backstabbers. She now had 4 children, one a young four-year-old girl named Pandora. She took some time off and waited to see what would happen on the block-nothing happened. Her customers kept calling demanding that she re-open. About two months later, she did re-open by hiring some of her old crew back. Without Fat Tony’s of the Mafia’s approval, she took control of Steve’s Number Business and his old territory. The Mafia disapproved, refusing to do business with her; a strong independent Black woman. The business picked up rapidly, but it didn’t achieve the “take-in” that it did before Steve died. Red was taking in about $8000 to $10,000 per day total which still put her in the top tier for Number Banks in Harlem.

Then one Friday afternoon a limousine pulled into 115th Street with Fat Tony in the back seat. He wanted to talk, initially she refused to get into the car. Then she set down in the back sit with the rear door opened and her feet still on the pavement. As they talked, her son drove up in his new Pontiac GTO and noticed her seated in the limo’s rear. As he approached the limo, Tony’s driver panicked and tried to close the limo’s back door on his mother. She pushed the door open with her shoe heal, the door handle hits Tony’s driver in the groin. While Tony’s driver buckles-over in pain, she tells her son to go home immediately. Their conversation continued, Tony demanded she give him $32,000 for the 115th Street francize or he would sell it to someone else. She refused stating that she bought him millions of dollars in revenue when she worked for him and Steve. He owed her a better deal. He suggested that he would give her the drug business in South Harlem. She was insulted, stated he had some damn nerve and that the conversation was over.

A few weeks later a new person appeared on the block stating he had purchased it from Tony. Tony sent word to her staff that they shouldn’t work for her only more. She understood and kept her best customers; those who played at least $30 dollars of numbers a day. It was becoming more troublesome, because the new guy wanted her to work for him. She did, against her best judgement. But jealous employees were saying she was stealing business from him.

Her fortune teller sees darkness She went regularly to have her fortune read and they were usually positive and up-beat readings. Then they changed, they became depressing and jumbled. They revealed her families’ past and future, but her present was cloudy and dark. She realized these were ominous signs. She suggested to her children that she had tried to do the best she could for them. That she wouldn’t always be with them. She questioned whether she was ready to travel the stars as forecasted by her Indian mentor? A few weeks later on October 18th, 1968, an assassin attacked her and stabled her to death in front of her four-year-old daughter in her apartment’s hallway. The Mafia nay have stopped her from fulling her dreams but she will fulfill her dreams through her children.

One disconcerting aspect of this was, sensing danger, her son purchased his mother a Smith and Wesson, 22-caliber pistol just before going off to college. She died clutching the weapon unable to fire it. He was attending Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York; having graduated from SUNY Farmingdale earlier in the year. He wasted no time in getting his mother buried and her family’s affairs in order. As per her instruction, they were no longer in the number business, but he was determined to take care of those who took his mother’s life. He was not sure who the assassin was, but he was sure who was responsible for setting her up. Her killer was never found.

The great irony of this story is, “Mama Daught” Red’s mother Freddie Mae, who forced her daughter to raise her siblings. She remained in New York City after her daughter’s funeral for two years helping to raise New York Red’s children and first grandchild while Eddie finished college. Then she took Red’s youngest daughter “Pandora” back to Atlanta, Georgia and raised her until she finished high school. Red made sure her children were well-clothed, well-fed, well-housed, well-educated and prepared to fulfil successful lives. They all are living successful lives except for son Bernard, who was shot and killed in front of a liquor store in Houston, Texas in 1983. Eddie came close to killing Silvester, his mother’s associate, whom he believed set her up to be killed. But his mother’s lament always’ rang true in his ears.

“Do as I said do, not as I do. I am throwing bricks at the jail-house so you won’t have to.”

References: New York Times, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Police Dept (NYPD), Office of the Mayor of NYC, The Schomburg Center-NYCPL, The Amsterdam News, Bullets in the Fire-The Saga of New York Red-by Author Edward Roy, bulletsinthefire.com