Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.
Episodes
Bumpy plans to build a new club in Harlem but must find a new way to finance it without the heroin business. Elise testifies in the Malcolm X murder trial when three innocent men are accused. Stella negotiates a business deal between Colombo and Chin.
A power struggle erupts in Harlem as Bumpy seeks allies against Chin's betrayal. Meanwhile, he assigns a risky heroin heist to Frank Lucas, while Elise uncovers deadly secrets and Stella maneuvers for control.
When the property for Bumpy's new club is being sold to a powerful, white real-estate developer, Bumpy must convince the black "Straw Man" to sell it to him instead; Mayme and Elise stage a protest at Margaret's school.
Bumpy battles a union strike threatening club construction. Elise bails out a fellow Panther and Frank faces consequences for Cowboy Nick's murder.
Bumpy finds a new concrete supplier that subverts payments to the Italians; Elise and the Panthers plan a symbolic action against the police; Frank does a job for Colombo; Mayme asks James Baldwin to do a reading for the Fine Arts Board.
Bumpy suffers a heart attack and has visions of Malcolm in the hospital; he's forced to negotiate with Colombo for Chance's safe return; Elise and Sadiq discover a rat in the Panthers; Olympia Gigante returns to get vengeance.
The Club St. Clair opens, but Bumpy has to pay Colombo a tax; Frank seeks protection from the Italians trying to kill him; Colombo responds to FBI harassment; Sadiq opens up to Elise; Mayme faces a financial obstacle to joining the Fine Arts Board.
Fred Straub returns to sue Bumpy for ownership of the St. Clair, but this time, he's backed by the Italian Mob; the Panthers intervene when Delia's son is drafted to Vietnam; Colombo makes an interesting proposal to Stella.
Without the St. Clair, Bumpy's forced to bring an old enemy back to Harlem to take care of Joe Colombo; Omar gets the name of one of Malcolm's shooters and the Panthers investigate; Mayme's invited to Truman Capote's Black & White Ball.
An attack on Bumpy's family forces him to team up with unlikely allies to retaliate against Joe Colombo; Margaret stays with Elise and the Panthers and helps Jerome; Pino betrays Stella; Colombo plans a Civil Rights rally in Central Park.
