We are pleased to announce that Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund has awarded a grant to support publication of the book Dream Books and Gamblers: Black Women’s Work in Chicago’s Policy Game by Elizabeth Schroeder Schlabach. The book aligns with Furthermore’s emphasis on cultural history, the city, and related public issues. 

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.

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.

Congratulations, Dr. Schlabach!