How Did the Chicago Street Gangs Start?

One of the first street gangs in Chicago was the Black P. Stone Nation gang which started in the 1950s. Since that time several other major gangs have formed and the culture of the street gang has changed.

When we are talking about Chicago street gangs, we are talking about a set of images that a number of people are familiar with such as the Black P. Stone Nation gang. Certainly, there could have been smaller gangs around before the Black P. Stone Nation. However, it took a gang the size of the Black P. Stone Nation to change the gang culture from a group of unruly teens to an organized, high-crime culture as seen today in the gang culture of Chicago.

Black P. Stone Nation

In the 1950s, Jeff Fort and Eugene Hairston formed the Blackstone Rangers at the Saint Charles Institution for Troubled Youth. The original purpose of this group was to invite troubled youths to come together. It was a community organization located in South Chicago. However, the mission of the group changed within the next decade or so. By the 1960s the group became an extremely powerful gang involved in a variety of crimes.

Since the foundations of the group had dramatically changed, Jeff Fort also changed the name of the group to the Black P. Stone Nation. The group became known as a black nationalist group as well. Fort and Hairston were both in and out of jail for awhile during the next couple of decades. However, at some point during the 1980s, Fort converted to Islam.

With Fort's conversion to Islam, he started bringing the Islamic religion into the Black P. Stone Nation. Fort changed his name to Abdullah-Malik and he called himself caliph in the gang. He was charged with purchasing weapons in order to buy terrorist attacks, and he is back in jail as of 2010. He still exercises influence over the Black P. Stone Nation from prison.

Today, the Black P. Stone Nation does still exist. Hairston eventually split with Fort, and his followers do not exert any sort of group religious affiliation. The association between the gang and the Islamic religion has started to die off as well, as many of the gang members are not practicing that religion.

Devil's Disciples and the Family

Another major gang from the middle of the 20th century was known as the Devil's Disciples, which was headed by David Barksdale for quite some time, after it was started. Shorty Freeman took over after the death of Barksdale.

Another gang, the Family, which was run by Larry Hoover, combined with the Devil's Disciples. Together, these groups made up the Black Gangster Disciple Nation. Changes have occurred in these gangs as time has progressed.

As of now, the Gangster Disciples and the Black Disciples are warring with each other, although they both exercise a great deal of power and authority in the southside of Chicago.

Changes in Gang Origins

We see that street gangs started as a way for troubled youth of common lifestyles to come together. However, the makeup of that organization changed quickly and adults became involved, often fueling the illegal activities. It has been decades since the forming of the first Chicago street gangs; however, their influence has lasted.