Informative essay
Informative Essay
Gangs “Crip Nation”
“Crippin' is a choice, but it's forever. You may slow down, but you will always be down forever.” (Washington 1969). Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by Raymond Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams III; the Crips are now a loosely connected network of individual sets. Through the years the gang has grown to be one of the largest and most powerful gangs in the United States, currently with over 30,000 gang members. Members of the are known to be involved in murders, robberies, drug dealing, and many more criminal activities. The gang is notorious for its flamboyant use of the color blue. Wearing blue any and everywhere, gang members often get heckled by the police. The Crips are known to have an intense and bitter rivalry with the Bloods and various surrounding gangs. They are also locked in an ongoing struggle over the drug trade with the Vice Lords. Raymond initially called the gang the Baby Avenues in an attempt to emulate older gangs and the activities carried out by the Black Panthers; Raymond was fascinated with the movement of the Black Panthers. The Gang renamed itself the Avenue Cribs and then took on the nickname the Cribs, because of the young age of members. The name Crips was first introduced in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper in a description by crime victims of young men with canes, as if they were crippled. Resources state, it could have just been a misspelling error, either way the name stuck, and the Crips were officially Born Gangsters. Stanley Tookie Williams, generally acknowledged as co-founder of the Crips, started his own gang called the Westside Crips. Crip meaning “Community Revolution In Progress”. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-crip gangs, including the L.A. Brims, Athens Parks Boys, the Bishops and the Denver Lanes. The Crips eventually
Gangs “Crip Nation”
“Crippin' is a choice, but it's forever. You may slow down, but you will always be down forever.” (Washington 1969). Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by Raymond Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams III; the Crips are now a loosely connected network of individual sets. Through the years the gang has grown to be one of the largest and most powerful gangs in the United States, currently with over 30,000 gang members. Members of the are known to be involved in murders, robberies, drug dealing, and many more criminal activities. The gang is notorious for its flamboyant use of the color blue. Wearing blue any and everywhere, gang members often get heckled by the police. The Crips are known to have an intense and bitter rivalry with the Bloods and various surrounding gangs. They are also locked in an ongoing struggle over the drug trade with the Vice Lords. Raymond initially called the gang the Baby Avenues in an attempt to emulate older gangs and the activities carried out by the Black Panthers; Raymond was fascinated with the movement of the Black Panthers. The Gang renamed itself the Avenue Cribs and then took on the nickname the Cribs, because of the young age of members. The name Crips was first introduced in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper in a description by crime victims of young men with canes, as if they were crippled. Resources state, it could have just been a misspelling error, either way the name stuck, and the Crips were officially Born Gangsters. Stanley Tookie Williams, generally acknowledged as co-founder of the Crips, started his own gang called the Westside Crips. Crip meaning “Community Revolution In Progress”. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-crip gangs, including the L.A. Brims, Athens Parks Boys, the Bishops and the Denver Lanes. The Crips eventually