Los Angeles Crips and Bloods: Past and Present Los Angeles Crips and Bloods: Past and Present Julia Dunn Poverty & Prejudice: Gangs of All Colors 'A gang is an interstitial group, originally formed spontaneously, and then integrated through conflict. It is characterized by the following types of behavior: meeting face to face, milling, movement through space as a unit, conflict, and planning. The result of this collective behavior is the development of tradition, unreflective internal structure, esprit de corps, solidarity, morale, group awareness, and attachment to a local territory' 1. African-American gangs began to emerge in the Los Angeles area during the 1920's, which was in concordance with the large black population in the city. The gangs in existence at this particular time in history were not territorial.
“Bloods” More Gang Knowledge. Although the United Blood Nation (UBN) was born in the prison system, as members were paroled to the streets, they formed street gangs on the East Coast under the same name, while emulating the Los Angeles Blood lifestyle.
On the other hand, they were 'loose associations, unorganized, and rarely violent' 2. Moreover, they did not employ monikers, graffiti, or various other gang characteristics to identify themselves. Gangs of the 1920's and 1930's were composed mainly of family members and friends, and they were involved only in very limited criminal actions. In fact, the main purpose of these criminal activities was to transmit a ' 'tough guy' image and to provide an easy means of obtaining money' 3. During the 1920's and 1930's, gangs such as the 'Goodlows,' 'Kelleys,' 'Magnificents,' 'Driver Brothers,' 'Boozies,' and the 'Bloodgetts' wandered the streets of Los Angeles. All of these gangs committed petty crimes in comparison to gangs today. The 'Boozies,' for example, consisted of brothers and their friends who engaged in prostitution, theft and forgery.
As the 1940's approached, black gangs were beginning to grow in numbers. Gangs including the 'Purple Hearts,' '31st Street,' and '28th Street' emerged in this decade, and their activities were very similar to those of gangs in the 20's and 30's. In addition to theft, prostitution and forgery, gangs of the 1940's were involved in extortion and gambling. 'They were very effective in forcing local merchants to pay the gangsters for protection, which amounted to paying the gang not to burn the merchant's store' 4. The 1950's witnessed the arrival of car 'clubs,' which included the 'Low Riders,' 'Coasters,' 'Highwaymen,' 'Road Devils,' 'Businessmen,' 'Gladiators,' 'Slausons,' 'Rebel Rousers,' 'Huns,' 'Watts Farmers,' and the 'Blood Alley.' These particular gangs were extremely protective of their territory, however, they were not organized very well and did not consist of many members. The activities of the gangs remained the same in relation to previous decades.
Any conflicts that did arise between gangs occurred when rival gang members found themselves in an enemy's territory. As was generally the case, each gang would gather it's members together, meet in a deserted lot or park and physically fight to the end. The gang with the most people standing at the conclusion of the fight was declared the winner, and the losers would simply limp home and recover. Weapons, such as chains, knives, and bats, were used occasionally in these rival conflicts. These types of weapons are in stark contrast to the commonly used semi-automatic handguns and AK-47's in today's gang fights. As the 1950's came to an end and the next decade emerged, car 'clubs' began to languish and more organized groups came to the forefront.
The late 1960's was the site of the development of what would be one of the most violent and unlawful African-American gangs in the history of Los Angeles, the Crips. It all began with the creation of a small gang called the 'Baby Avenues' by two South Central Los Angeles high school students, Raymond Washington and Tookie. These young men soon began referring to their gang as the 'Cribs,' which is thought to have eventually given rise to the current name of the South Central gang, the Crips. Raymond and Tookie claimed to have started this particular gang as a means of protection against other gangs in the area who were committing various crimes. The activities of the Crips originated on high school campuses throughout the Los Angeles area. Freemont High School was the home for the 'Eastside Crips,' and the 'Westside Crips' originated on the opposite side of the 110 Harbor Freeway. In addition, another faction of Crips was formed in the Compton area of Los Angeles, which came to known as the 'Compton Crips.'
Nearly a decade after the institution of this particular gang, 'the Crips had grown from a small Los Angeles gang to an organization with membership spread across the state of California' 5. Even previously established gangs, such as the 'Main Street Crips,' 'Kitchen Crips,' '5 Deuce Crips,' and the 'Rolling 20 Crips,' came to consolidate the Crip name into their gang set. Despite the fact that these gangs embraced the Crip name, they often remained independent and continued to have their own leadership and members. Many of these Crip subsets were in conflict with one another due to the independent nature of several of these gangs. Thus, the 'Crips had become just like the gang members they had once sought to protect themselves from-Crips had become gangbangers who terrorized their own neighborhoods' 6. During their early years of existence, Crips' main activities included extortion of funds from non-gang members, theft and assault.
The founders of the Crips gang both lost their affiliation with the gang close to a decade after its establishment. A rival gang member murdered Raymond Washington in 1979, and Tookie was incarcerated that same year on four counts of murder. During the early 1970's, several other African-American gangs emerged in an effort to protect themselves from the many Crip gangs forming in the area.
One of the most well known of these particular gangs is the Bloods, which came to be one of the other most violent and unlawful African-American gangs in Los Angeles. The Bloods established themselves around the West Piru Street area in the Compton section of Los Angeles.
Sylvester Scott and Vincent Owens were the founders of the Bloods, and this certain gang actually started out as the 'Compton Pirus.' The swift expansion of the Bloods was aided by a severe conflict between the 'Compton Crips' and the 'Compton Pirus,' in which the Pirus were greatly outnumbered and brutally crushed.
This conflict brought several sets of the Pirus together, and the Pirus subsequently joined forces with the 'Laurdes Park Hustlers' and the 'LA Brims.' In fact, the Brims were quite fervent to join forces against the Crips, who had recently murdered one of their gang members. Various other gangs around the area who had been attacked or threatened in the past by the Crips were also eager to join the forces against them, and these gangs were united under the Blood name. 'Red' gangs in the Compton refer to themselves as 'Pirus, ' and several other 'red' gangs in the area such as the 'Brims,' 'Bounty Hunters,' 'Swans,' and the 'Family' are known as the 'Bloods.' Those associated with the Bloods are fairly well accredited for their 'take no prisoners' attitude as well as for their merciless and violent behavior. During the latter half of the 1970's, the Crips and the Bloods began to divide into smaller sets, and as they disseminated throughout the Los Angeles area, they 'began to claim certain neighborhoods as their territory. Their gang rivalry became vicious and bloody' 7.
Close to thirty thousand gang members associated with either the Crips or Bloods made their home in and around Los Angeles during the early 1980's. Gang members ranged in ages from as young as fourteen to as old as twenty-four, and they were required to perform certain acts in order to receive initiation into these gangs. Future members of either the Bloods or Crips were expected to 'jump in' and fight established members of the gang which they wanted to join. These future members would also be asked to commit a crime in a particular neighborhood or attack a member of a rival gang. The Bloods and the Crips were extremely territorial and quite ardent in protecting their neighborhood against invasion by one another as well as other rival gangs. Due to the large number of gang members occupying a relatively small area of Los Angeles, the gangs devised a method of identifying one another.
This system of identification would allow gang members to avoid assaulting members of different sets who belonged to the same gang. The Crips 'identify themselves with the color blue, which is believed to originate form the colors of Washington High School in south Los Angeles. Crip gangsters wear articles of blue clothing, blue handkerchiefs, shoelaces, hair rollers, hats, belts, or sweatshirts' 8. If one's clothing is ambiguous, gang signs are often used, which is a derivative of sign language for these gangs. Crip members will also replace the letter 'b' with the letter 'c' when writing certain words. Thus, 'coffee' becomes 'boffee,' 'compton' becomes 'bompton,' and 'cat' becomes 'bat.'
When speaking to one another, Crips refer to each other as 'Cuzz' and 'Blood Killas' (BK), and members of this gang can be seen wearing British Knight (BK) athletic shoes. The Bloods, in contrast to the Crips, identify themselves with the color red, which is Centennial High School's color (high school where the Bloods originated), and unlike the Crips, the Bloods can be seen wearing red clothing such as red bandannas or rags. 'Another color may be used in relation to the name of the set, such as green for the Lime Hood Pirus' 9.
Members of the Blood gangs address one another in several ways such as 'Blood,' 'Yo Blood,' and 'Wuz up blood?' Bloods will also cross out the letter 'c' as a sign of disrespect for the Crips, and in addition, the Bloods will adorn walls and property with graffiti which is disrespectful towards the Crips. Prior to the 1980's, the Crips and the Bloods had limited active participation in narcotics trafficking. 'However, by 1983, African-American Los Angeles gangs seized upon the availability of narcotics, particularly crack, as a means of income' 10.
Many of the gang members who became involved in the buying and selling of narcotics came from the inner city areas where poverty and unemployment are a way of life. Gangsters could make anywhere from three hundred to five hundred dollars per day selling crack cocaine.
Thus, the money involved was a main component which drew gangsters to this particular line of work. Crips and Bloods control crack cocaine distribution in many cities around the country. Members of these gangs will migrate to other cities, ascertain the narcotics demand in that city, identify the dealers in the city, and figure out the established operations for narcotic sales. Gang involvement in the drug market has led to an extraordinary amount of violence throughout certain cities due to the members fighting over 'profitable narcotics trade' 11. So, as members of the Bloods and Crips migrate to various cities throughout the United States, they bring with th6m the sale of narcotics and the violence associated with it.
Gang members often relocate to other cities based on established family ties within a particular city and the enticement of quick profits from the buying and selling of narcotics. The Crips and the Bloods 'have migrated throughout the country and are seen in most states and their prison populations. There are literally hundreds of sets or individual gangs under the main Blood and Crip names' 12. Eastern coast-based gangs including People Nation and Folk Nation have become so well known that the Crips and the Bloods have formed allies with them. Bloods have formed an alliance with the People Nation, and the Crips have formed an alliance with the Folk Nation. The Crips and the Bloods began nearly thirty years ago in a small section of Los Angeles, and today, there are over thirty-three states and one hundred twenty-three cities which are occupied by Crips and Bloods gang members.
New York City is one of the major cities in the U.S. Engulfed with Crips and Bloods, and its prisons are the home for many of these gang members. Endnotes 1 Thrasher, Frederic. 1927 The Gang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
2, 3. 5, 6. 8, 9. Bibliography Bakeer, Donald. Crips: The story of the L.A.
Street gang from 1971-1985. Los Angeles: Precocious Publishing.
Kinnear, Karen. Santa Barbara: ABC-C Lb, Inc. Klein, Malcolm. The American Street Gang: Its Nature, Prevalence, and Control.
New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
The Bloods - Gang Language now includes Definition and history of the Bloods BLOODS STREET GANG BLOODS, also known as PIRUS, developed in Los Angeles, California to protect themselves from the CRIPS and have become their traditional rivals. The BLOODS or PIRUS identify with the color red. They will usually carry a red rag and wear articles of clothing that are red. They also adopted the term 'BLOOD' for identifying each other.
BLOODS are known to be involved in the trafficking of crack cocaine with BLOOD factions now being found in larger Texas cities. Some BLOODS street gang members will have tattoos of the name of the particular set (faction) they belong to (i.e. FRUIT TOWN PIRU, ROLLIN 30'S PIRU, 87 FAMILY BLOOD).
The Bloods Philosophy(jail house version) SUPERIOR THREAT DIZZY UNITED BLOOD NATION 031 DOG'S BLOOD BEING THAT A LOT OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS DO NOT KNOW THE REAL DEFINITION OUT OF BLOOD LOVE. MY DEFINITION IS AS FOLLOWS: THAT OUR COLORS ARE ALIKE, YOU SHOULD WANT FOR YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF. (THIS IS BLOOD LOVE.) THE U.N.B.N. HAS MANY RULES AND REGULATIONS, THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE U.N.B.N.
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WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN AS CODE, ARE TO BE TAKEN TO HEART. I'M THE SECOD SUPERIOR OF THE NEW YORK BLOOD, WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE ' NINE TREY GANGSTAR' AND I SAY THAT IF ANY CODE'S ARE BROKEN IN CONCERNS OF BLOOD LOVE, THEN DEATH DO US PART. ( BLOOD OUT) THE U.N.B.N. HAS 21 RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT WILL BE TAKEN TO HEART, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THESE LESSONS IN YOUR POSESSION, I THINK IT WILL BE TO YOUR ADVANTADGE THAT YOU RECEIVE A COPY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. EVERY SUPERIOR: WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ORDER OF THE G'S IN HIS VICINITY EVERY PIECE OF INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS MY WAY OF SHOWING BLOOD LOVE TO ALL THE G'S.
SOUTH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA IS THE CONCRETE JUNGLE AND THE MOTHERLAND OF THE BLOOD GANG. 'RED' IS THE COLOR ALL BLOOD'S NATIONALLY.
GHETTO-STAR: A TITLE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD CELEBRITY KNOWN FOR GANG BANGING AND OR DRUG DEALING. PUTTING WORK DOING AN E-RICKET. COURTED IN: THE WAYS OF BECOMING AN OFFFICIAL BLOOD-G'S 6. HITTING UP: MEANS, TO INQUIRE ABOUT WHERE THEIR FROM, OR WHICH CLICK THEY ARE ROLLING WITH. BANGING: CONSTANTLY 711 PUTTING WORK PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, WALL BANG, THROW YOUR SET UP UNCONTESTED TERRITORY.
BANGING AIN'Y NO PART TIME THING IT'S BEING DOWN YOUR BY YOURSELF STANDING FIRM, KILLING BANGING AND DYING OUT FEAR. IT'S LOVE FOR YOUR G, AND HATED FOR (E-RICKET).
YOU AS A BLOOD MUST BUILD YOUR OWN REPUTATION, YOU CAN'T EXPECT TO BE KNOWN BECAUSE OF YOUR BRO'S ACTIONS. YOUR NAME MUST BE KNOWN AMONGST THE SETS SO WHEN THE G'S ARE SPEAKING YOUR NAME WILL BE RECOGNIZED WITH THE HIGHEST RESPECT. YOU MUST ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS AN O-G OF THE BLOOD GANG. TERRITORY: ALL BLOOD SET'S MUST HAVE THEIR OWN UNCONTESTED TERRITORY. FULL GEAR: OUR GEAR IS OUR COLORS AND DARKIES AND BROWNIES. G-DOWN: SHORT FOR GANGSTA DOWN, NAMELY GANG ATTIRE.
BROWNIES: ARE THE GLOVES WORN KNOWN AS GARDEN GLOVE. GARDEN GLOVE IS WORN DURING BANGING, FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT NO FINGER PRINTS CAN BE FOUND.
COLORS: ALL BLOOD G'S KEEP THEIR COLOR IN THEIR BACK RIGHT HAND POCKET OF THEIR KHAKIS. SLIPPING: NOT BEING ALERT.
MOUNTING UP: BLOOD G'S COMING TOGETHER TO GO PUT IN MAJOR WORK. BALLER: MEANS A GANGSTA 19. TURNING OUT: TO DISRUPT WITH VIOLENCE. SLOB-GAME: IS USED TO AGAINST ONE TITLED E-RICKET. ALL PERPETRATORS WHO TRY TO COME AGAINST US, TYRING TO MAKE UP NEW IDEAS OR NEW RULES WILL AND MUST BE BLOODED OUT BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY. THERE TWO SNAKES THAT TRIED TO USE OUR CLICK TO THEIR OWN ADVANTADGE THEY CAME TO US PROCLAIMING THAT THEY WERE GOD-FATHER, OF OUR CLICK, NOT KNOWING THAT ALL SUPERIOR ARE AWARE OF THEM-(SHA 120) AND HIS COWARD COMRADE (SUPREME) AT ANYTIME YOU RUN INTO THESE TWO E-RICKETS PUT IN WORK(711) SOUTH CENTRAL'S OUR HOME NEW YORK WE ROME. LEADER AND GOD-FATHER OF THE BLOOD GANG SINCE 1971, WHO HAS ALSO LEADER OF THE FIRST ORIGINAL SET 'THE ALMIGHTY BLACK P, STONE GANGSTA GODFATHER T.
ROGERS. FAKE BLOOD AND REAL BLOOD 1. A REAL BLOOD REALIZE THAT MONEY COMES AND GOES, HE'D HAND IT OUT. INVEST HIS MONEY. FAKE BLOOD WOULD HOLD ON TO IT, TREASURE IT LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW. IN JAIL FAKE BLOOD DON'T HOLD THEIR IMAGE THAT THEY HELD IN NEW YORK, A REAL BLOOD ADAPTS TO ANY BAD ENVIROMENT. A FAKE BLOOD TREASURES MATERIAL THINGS LIKE GOLD CHAINS, AND FAME, CARS, AND FEMALES; A REAL BLOOD VALUES LOYALTY, PRINCIPLES AND BLOOD HOOD LOVE.
A REAL BLOOD WOULD NEVER COMIT PETTY CRIMES, BECAUSE HIS TIME IS TO VALUABLE. A BLOOD IS AN ASSASSIN FOR THE CAUSE. A FAKE WOULD DISPLAY HIS GUN TO HIS PEER'S, A REAL BLOOD STAYS OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT, A REAL BLOOD WAIT FOR DANGER BEFORE TAKING ACTION. THE ALL MIGHTY BLOOD'D N.Y.C. BLOOD EVERY BLOOD RANK OR SOLDIER WILL NEVER BE IN A STATE OF SLIPPING!!! I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO OUR FLAG THE UNITED BLOOD'S IN THE CHAPTER AND TO THE REAL(OG) FOR WHAT WE STAND, ONE SET UNDER BLOOD OATH FOR EACH BLOOD CARRY THE BORDER FOR ALL BLOODS 031.
NINE TREY GANGSTA'S KNOWN AS THE NEW YORK CITY BLOOD N.Y.C. BEGAN JULY 1993 RIKER'S ISLAND C-73 1 MAIN, SUPERIOR'S KNOWN AS O-G MACK, AND DEAD EYE. MILLER GANGSTA 4. MAD SWAN'S 5. ROLLIN 20'S 6. BOUNTY HUNTERS 7. COLD STONE VILLIANS 8.
SAN DIEGO'S LINCOLN PARK PRIUS BLOOD 9. SKY-LINE PRIUS BLOOD 10. VANESS BLOOD G'S 11.
SEATTLES BLOODS 12. DETROIT G'S 13. ATLANTA BLOOD G'S 14. CHICAGO BLOOD G'S 15.
NORTH CAROLINA BLOOD G'S 16. SOUTH CAROLINA BLOOD G'S 17.
NEW JERSEY BLOOD G'S I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO OUR FLAG THE UNITED BLOODIN THE CHAP AND THE REAL (O.Gs) FOR WHAT WE STAND, ON THE SET UNDER BLOOD OATH FOR EACH BLOOD TO CARRY THE BURDEN FOR ALL BLOOD'S The Bloods Philosophy(street version) 1) L.A. Is the Concrete Jungle and the Mother Land of the Notorius Bloods. 2) The Blood Army has a flag, our Flag is RED, to which total allegiance is pledged. 3) The Blood Army has It's own language, customs, and philosophy.
4) A GHETTOSTAR is a neighborhood celebrity, known for gang banging, drug dealing, and so on. 5) PUTTING IN WORKS means a Military Mission to hold it's cause that's a hell of a name. 6) COURTED IN means to be accepted through a barrage of test usually physical, though this can include shotting people or being jumped in.
7) HITIN PEOPLE UP means asking where they are from, which gang they are down with. 8) BANGIN AINT NO PART TIME THANG ITS FULL TIME ITS A CAREER ITS BEING DOWN WHEN AINT NOBODY ELSE DOWNWITH YOU ITS GETTIN CAUGHT AND NOT TELLINKILLIN AND NOT CARRING AND DYIN WITHOUT FEAR ITS LOVE FOR YOUR SET AND HATE FOR THE ENEMY. 9) You must build the reputation of your name, you as an individual. 10) You must build your name IN ASSOCIATION WITH YOUR PARTICULAR SET SO THAT WHEN YOUR NAME IS SPOKEN YOUR SET IS ALSO SPOKEN OF IN THE SAME BREATH FOR ITS SYNONYMOUS 11) YOU MUST ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS A PROMOTER OF THE BLOODS AND ON WHICH SET OF THE RED DAT YOU LIVE. 12) QUEEN BEES IS A DISRESPECTFUL TERM USED BY THE BLOODS AGAINST THE L.K.
AND INSECTO IS USED AGAINST THE NETAS WHICH MEANS LOW DOWN. 13) ALTHOUGH ALL GANG MEMBERS ARE IN THE MILITARY ALL GANG MEMBERS ARE NOT SOLDIERS THOSE WHO ARE STAND OUT AND ALL FEAR AND RESPECT THEM. 14) CONTESTED TERRITORY GANGS TEND TO FUNCTION AS STATES IN REGARDS TO TAKING OR COLONIZING TERRITORY. 15) FULL GEAT GEAT IS GANG CLOTHES COLORS AND HATS ACTUALLY UNIFORMS 16) G-DOWN SHOWT FOR GANSTER DOWNOR DRESSED IN GANG ATTIRE 17) BROWNIES BROWN GARDEN GLOVES USED BY GANG MEMBERS FOR FIGHTING AND SHOOTING 18) THE BLOODS KEEP THEIR FLAGS OR COLOR ON THEIR RIGHT SIDE OF THEIR POCKETS OR PANTS 19) MURDER ONES DARK SNADES ALSO CALLED LOCS OR LOCOS 20) SLIPPIN NOT PAYING ATTENTION NOT BEING VIGILIANT 21) WALLBANGIN WRITING YOUR SETS NAME ON A WALL ADVERTISIN 22) MEETING MEANS A GANG GATHERING TO CHOOSE A RIDING PARTY OR GROUP OF SHOOTERS TO INVADE ENEMY TERRITORY. 23) MOUNTING UP MEANS STARTING OUT ON THE MISSION 24) BALLER IS ADRUG DEALER OR A GANGSTER 25) YOU ARE TAUGHT FROM RECRUITMENT THAT YOUR SET IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF AND DISRESPECT IS NOT TOLRERATED 26) THE BLOOD ARMY EACH HAS VARIOUS DIVISIONS AND CHAPTERS AS WHICH FOR THEIR SETS 27) TURNING OUT MEANS TO DISRUPT WITH VIOLENCE BLOOD PLEDGE I PLEDGE ALLEGENCE TO OUR FLAG AND TO THE UNITED BLOODS IN THE CHAPTER AND TO THE REAL GO FOR WHAT WE STAND ONE SET UNDER BLOOD TO CARRY THE BURDEN OF ALL BLOODS. WE ARE HATED BY MANY LOVED BY FEW BUT RESPECTED BY ALL BLOODS BLOOD IN-BLOOD OUT THE BLOOD ORG.'
WILL HAVE NO SNITCHERS' THE BLOOD ORG.' WILL HAVE NO RAPIST' THE BLOOD ORG.'
WILL RESPECT EVERY COMMANDING OFFICER' THE BLOOD ORG.'
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