Baby Avenue Gangs Essay

In 1960 the black areas of central Los Angeles—Watts, Central Avenue, and West Adams— had similar characteristics. Whites increasingly moved to the suburbia leaving the area overwhelingly black. The violence caused by racial segregation between black and white gangs turned into black versus black gangs.

The western areas of the black communities were economically better than the eastern half, so eastside gangs resented westside youths and fought west gangs. Most scuffles were hand-to-hand fights or with knives and tire irons. Murders rarely occurred. In 1960 only six gang-related murders occurred in all of Los Angeles County.

In 1965, hard conditions such as; poverty, unemployment, harsh Los Angeles police treatment of African Americans, and

continuing segregation brought about the Watts race riots the summer of 1965, when the police used excessive force on two black men who were arrested. After the riots, some members of Watts community understood the necessity of finding a solution for police brutality. By these days the Civil Rights movement was gaining power in Los Angeles through groups as the Black Panther Party, a powerful black political organization. This party opened a page in Los Angeles. FBI targeted black organizations including Black Panthers claming that these organizations were threat to the national security. The political leadership and power of Black Panthers were weakened. ‘’By 1970 Los Angeles youth had lost the adult leadership that had kept them working on community issues. Filling the void was a new gang organization period.’’
In 1969, Raymond Washington a 15 years old high school student was established a group, Baby Avenue, with young people from Central Avenue in the east of Los Angeles.

They aimed to be an organization founded in response to the increasing level of police harassment of the African-American community and also to protect and serve the community. They embraced the ideology of Black Panthers. But they wanted to create more powerful group this is how Baby Avenue turned itself to Avenue Cribs. In 1971, the word Crib was modifed for Crip ‘’ because of the canes used by gang members, a Los Angeles newspaper reporting on an assault called them the "Crips" for cripples’’. Crips is a slang word crippin' meant robbing and stealing. But the members adapted Crips to ‘’ Community Resources for Independent People’’. The word crip became popular among gangsters. Meanwhile Washington and the other members influenced young people from other areas. As a result several Crips systems were founded. Some of those groups were Avalon Garden Crips, Eastside Crips, Inglewood Crips and Westside Crips. The Crips eventually became the most powerful gang in California due to their excessive violence and their effords to conquer new territories. In response to their aggression, all of the other gangs under siege, including the Pirus, decided to unite their powers with alliance and later they became the

Bloods.
Anti-Crips including the Piru Street Boys, the LA Brims, the Denver Lanes, the Inglewood Family, the Swans, and the Pueblo Bishops began calling each other “Blood” which was for brotherly, love, overcome, our depression.

The Bloods are a predominately African American street gang that founded in City of Compton, Los Angeles in 1972. Bloods had far fewer members than the Crips, they matched their tendency for violence and crime. By the end of the 1970s, the Bloods had considerably increased their numbers and expanded their territory; however, they were still outnumbered by the Crips sets by a margin of three to one. Bloods had started to have reputation for being one of the most dangerous and ruthless street gangs. The Crips still outnumber the Bloods on the west coast, but the Bloods have maintained their notoriety as a significant criminal organization. During the 1980s, the Bloods became heavily involved in the distribution of crack cocaine. Their successes in narcotics distribution led to the Bloods expansion

eastward.