African American Literature on Black Girlhood in Depression-Era Harlem: Louise Meriwether’s Daddy Was a Number Runner, 1970

Louise Meriwether

First Edition

Meriwether, Louise. Daddy Was a Number Runner (1970) establishes a foundational literary account of African American urban life during the Great Depression, centering Black girlhood, family structure, and informal economic survival in Harlem. Written from the perspective of a twelve-year-old narrator, the novel documents the lived realities of working-class Black communities navigating racial exclusion, limited employment access, and gendered divisions of labor. The text supports research into African American literature, childhood studies, and the social history of Depression-era Harlem, particularly through its focus on intra-community dynamics and the role of underground economies such as the numbers racket.

Meriwether, Louise. Daddy Was a Number Runner. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970. First edition. The narrative follows Frances Coffin, whose father works as a numbers runner within Harlem’s informal lottery system, while her mother maintains the household under economic strain. Scenes depict domestic interiors, neighborhood streets, and community interactions shaped by poverty, racism, and resourcefulness. The text presents recurring depictions of food scarcity, rent pressures, and familial tension, alongside moments of resilience and observation from a child’s perspective. The pictorial dust jacket, designed by Bob Cuevas, includes an author photograph and printed excerpts from the foreword by James Baldwin, including the statement: “This book should be sent to the White House, and to our earnest Attorney General, and to everyone in this country able to read.” The rear panel situates Meriwether in relation to contemporaries such as Claude Brown and Malcolm X, emphasizing the novel’s engagement with Black self-representation and urban experience.

Published during a period of expanded visibility for African American authors, the novel contributes to late twentieth-century literary movements addressing race, class, and identity from within Black communities. Its focus on a young Black female protagonist distinguishes it within contemporaneous narratives of urban life, offering a perspective grounded in childhood perception and gendered experience. The work remains relevant to studies of Black literary production, informal economies, and the cultural history of Harlem across the twentieth century. 311 pages; black cloth binding; pictorial dust jacket; octavo. Dust jacket shows edge wear, creasing, rubbing, surface soiling, and tape residue to interior flaps; boards with light wear at extremities; pages clean and legible. Overall condition: Good.

Item #22946

Price: $320.00