Know Your History...

i saw something like this in history last year, but it was focused on how the bloods & crips were created from an economic & political stand point. for example, people came to l.a. for economic opportunity. suddenly there were no jobs for the blacks who were working in factories. so, a couple of black men hanging out with no jobs became a group. a group became many groups. so on & so forth until out of the black panther age in l.a. became the crips, and then the bloods were created.



"Narrated by Forest Whitaker, CRIPS AND BLOODS: Made in America combines in-depth interviews with current and former gang members, educators, historians, family members and experts with historical and present-day footage to graphically portray the rivalry between African American gangs in South Los Angeles. Three former gang members—Ron, Bird and Kumasi—recount their experiences growing up in the neighborhood in the 1950s, when segregation kept blacks and whites strictly separated, both by police-enforced neighborhood boundaries and in public organizations like the Boy Scouts. Young black males began forming their own groups, clubs where they could find a sense of belonging. Fighting between rival clubs became part of that culture, but the only weapons then were a strong pair of fists.


The 1950s were a period of black prosperity in Los Angeles, fed by the abundance of industry-based jobs. By the end of the decade, however, those industries began to disappear, resulting in high rates of unemployment. This downward economic spiral along with years of prejudice, racial profiling and heavy-handed police methods, produced an explosive situation. In 1965, a routine traffic stop erupted into full-scale civil conflict on the streets of Watts. The FBI killed and jailed many leaders of the eras Black Pride Movement, and without strong leadership to steer youth in positive directions, gangs became active once more. This time, their weapons were guns."