Before state lottery games, there was an illegal game of chance called "policy." It was huge in the Black community, impacting city politics and the economy.
Edward Jones, one of the most powerful African Americans in the United States in the 1930s and 40s, built a $25 million empire in Chicago with the illegal numbers game, also making him one of the most powerful Policy Kings.
Jones' story is told in the new documentary, “King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones,” making its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival next week.
"I had no idea, I really had no idea," said Harriet Marin Jones, documentary writer, producer and director, as well as Jones' granddaughter. "It’s really an important story to be told, because he did set an example. He did open doors in Chicago, and it's such a pity that his story fell into oblivion."
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"Chicago was the policy capital of the world. No one did it better than Chicago," said "Policy Kings" author and publisher Nathan Thompson. "No one did it better in Chicago than the Jones’ brothers."
The Jones’ story is an important part of Chicago’s illegal racketeering syndicate known as policy. As Thompson explains, "The baby brother Mack Jones was a policy runner and rider for one of the other people before his brothers got into the business. It’s because of the baby brother that Ed Jones decided to get into the business."
In the film, you learn about how the policy kings went head to head with the mob and the subsequent demise of the syndicate.
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"Like Quincy Jones said in the film," said Harriet Marin Jones, "to know who we are and to know where we are going, we absolutely need to learn our history. We need to learn our past."
"King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones" premieres on Oct. 19 at the Chicago History Museum as part of the Chicago International Film Festival. There will also be a free community screening on Oct. 21 at the Hamilton Park Cultural Center at 513 W. 72nd St.
