Policy-banking is a blend of gambling and investing that involves a lot of the latter. African-Americans could not invest lawfully since many banks refused to accept them. Black Harlem inhabitants had few other options for investing their money besides policy banking, which was technically illegal. In addition, because it was predominately a Black industry, many bankers had an urgency that they would not have had in fields where whites dominated. Using the clandestine economy in Harlem, Saint-Clair was capable of addressing race politics. Saint-Clair was one of the few ladies participating in the game of chance in Harlem at the time. Harlem was supported by Saint-employment Clair’s opportunities for the black community, such as number runners. She also contributed to the betterment of her neighbourhood by making donations to organizations dedicated to the advancement of racial equality (bunch-Lyons, 2019, 92). In the 1920s, she enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle thanks to her accomplishment in the numbers game, making more than $20,000 a year. St.clair depended on African-American news publications to express her views on race disparity and advances on urban white vileness in urban areas.
Urban blacks’ collective struggle against inequity and her observations with discrimination informed her racial and political consciousness. The NYAN highlighted St. Clair’s devotion to racial equality. He paid for opinion articles in the black magazine from the 1920s through the 1930s. Her public essays addressed black immigration, regional politics, and police violence. St. Clair broke stereotypes of early-20th-century black women activists, not shying away from controversy(bunch-Lyons, 2019, 85). Her community activism ushered forth new reform ideas. Several black New Yorkers used informal economics to earn a decent living and fight urban inequity, as illustrated by the numbers queen’s collaborative work approach. St. Clair bought paid advertisements in the NYAN. Her open letters to black New Yorkers and letters to New York state and municipal authorities, especially new york mayor and governor, frankly stressed concerns that afflicted black New Yorkers’ daily life. In each of her letters, St. Clair pleaded with state and local lawmakers to resolve the denial of black civil rights. St. Clair’s editorials to legislators exemplified her appeal for African Americans to be acknowledged as the first individuals and for politicians to uphold blacks’ civil rights.