Fact vs Fiction: Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 4 — who is Afeni Shakur?

In Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 4, “Union Blues,” Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) attempts to break ground on his ambitious development in Harlem, which he’s dedicated to his mentor, Stephanie St. Clair. Unfortunately for him, he hits a major snag when the labor union protests his development because of his refusal to use “white only” construction workers. He’s forced to use his unique version of diplomacy to deal with the problem.

Elsewhere, Elise (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) becomes an official member of the Black Panther Party, and one of her first acts as a member is to help Afeni Shakur (Devin Kessler) out of a bind. However, Elise resorts to some extreme measures to come to Afeni’s aid.

Here’s what we found out as we looked into what was fact and fiction from Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 4.

Did Bumpy Johnson ever open Club St. Clair in Harlem?

The fiction
Bumpy and Mayme (Ilfenesh Hadera) are with a crowd of people, celebrating the groundbreaking for their new development project, Club St. Clair. It will serve as a “new culture and entertainment center,” and its name serves as a touching tribute to Bumpy’s mentor, Stephanie St. Clair. Unfortunately for the couple, as Mayme touts that this project will bring 1500 jobs to Harlem, a labor union boss leads a protest on the property.

When Bumpy confronts the union boss, the latter says his men will be there protesting every day until Bumpy unionizes his project and hires his people. However, the kingpin remains resolved to hire Black workers from Harlem.

To solve his union problem, Bumpy has Del (Erik LaRay Harvey) break into the union boss’ office to locate the books, which prove the boss has been skimming money from the union. That’s particularly bad in this case, as the boss works for Joe Colombo (Michael Raymond-James). After Bumpy receives the proof, he confronts Joe with the documents, and Joe, in turn, kills the union boss. Additionally, after he took a meeting with Stella (Lucy Fry), Bumpy seems to be assured that the new union boss will be in the back pocket of the Gigantes, so Bumpy can use Black workers for his project, per his agreement with her.

By the end of the episode, Bumpy breaks ground again, and this time, construction begins. He even imagines what the finished project will look like. But did the real Bumpy Johnson build Club St. Clair?

The fact
While sources like The Root can attest to the real Stephanie St. Clair and Bumpy Johnson having a working relationship, with him serving as her enforcer as she ran the numbers racket in Harlem, we were unable to find any documentation to suggest that Bumpy opened up a cultural center in her honor.

Who is Afeni Shakur and was she related to Tupac?

The fiction
Afeni Shakur was introduced in the previous episode as a leader of the Black Panther Party movement that was growing in Harlem. In season 4 episode 4, Elise shows up at a Black Panther event at a local school, where the members are helping the children in the community. As that’s going on, Afeni is giving a speech addressing the crowd.

After Afeni wraps her speech, and Elise (who by the way is a new member of the local chapter of the party) shares a nice meet-cute moment with a man named Sadiq, NYPD officers show up demanding to see the group’s permit to be there. The officers say they are on NYC public school property and want them to leave, despite them actually doing volunteer work. Afeni becomes outraged and civilly resists their demands to leave. Fed up with her actions, police arrest Afeni and hold her on a $500 bond, which Elise and a small group of Panthers rob a drug den to pay.

The fact
As reported in The New York Times, Afeni was born Alice Faye Williams in Lumberton, North Carolina, and her mother later moved her and her sister to the Bronx in New York City. After dropping out of a performing arts high school, she wound up drinking, experimenting with narcotics and became a member of the street gang, The Disciples. She eventually took a postal job, becoming one of the first women to be a mail carrier in the city.

Afeni didn’t stay long in the position and “drifted for a while" before she heard Black Panthers chairman Bobby Seale speak. She wound up joining the Panthers when they opened an office in Harlem. Then as Time states, she met section leader Lumumba Shakur, and the two fell in love and got married. Additionally, she ascended to a leader within the Harlem office, “recruiting and training new members, helping launch the Party’s free breakfast for schoolchildren program, and helping tenants organize rent strikes against exploitative landlords.”

Now, as far as Afeni’s connection to famous rapper Tupac Shakur, she’s his mother, having given birth to him in 1971. While Tupac’s birth doesn’t occur in the timeframe reflected in Godfather of Harlem at this point, if you want to learn more about him and his dynamic with his mother, we suggest checking out the documentary Dear Mama on Hulu (on Disney Plus in the UK).

Godfather of Harlem season 4 continues to air on Sundays on MGM Plus.