“How old were you when you first got a gun?” reporter Forest Whitaker asked Bloods and Crips gang members. The men were quick to reply, one with a grin on his face as he proudly announced, “ Man, I was probably about twelve!” Another said, “I was thirteen!” In a documentary titled Crips and Bloods: Made In America directed by Stacy Peralta, archival footage and personal accounts tell the story and examine the culture of two of the most famous gangs in America, the Bloods and the Crips. This seldom discussed and often-overlooked part of American subculture is still thriving in the inner city, the street gang. Street gangs have played a big part in shaping different cities and areas within the U.S. Two of the most famous street gangs are the Los Angeles Crips (L.A. Crips) and the Los Angeles Bloods (L.A. Bloods). These two gangs are involved in one of the biggest gang rivalries currently erupting in the United States. Who are the people who belong to the Bloods and the Crips? What do they do? Where are gangs prominent? What is the attraction to the people who join these gangs? According to the FBI over 1,000,000 people who identify themselves as gang members, The sense of community, family, and belonging is an enormous emotional pull that drives gang members to commit the unimaginable crimes just to belong. Who are the Bloods and Crips? These two gangs are made up mainly of socioeconomic challenged African American males who live in poverty stricken areas of urban cities. The Bloods and Crips originated from other gangs that were formed in the 1950’s like The Business Men, The Gladiators, and The Slausons. Back in the 1950’s the groups referenced themselves as “clubs”, but it was the rest of the society in their city that referre... ... middle of paper ... ... society we can help reduce the amount of gangs and gang violence that continue to purge our world today. Works Cited Crips and Bloods: Made in America. Dir. Sam George and Stacy Peralta. Perf. Forest Whitaker, Jim Brown, and Tony Muhammad. Public Broadcasting Station, 2008. DVD. Knafo, Saki. "1 In 3 Black Males Will Go To Prison In Their Lifetime, Report Warns." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . "Safe Street Task Force." FBI. FBI, 19 Mar. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. . Valenzuela, Beatriz E. "Gangs in the Military." Victorville Daily Press. Daily Press, 28 June 2008. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .
When Kody Scott was 6 years old, the gang wars started in Los Angeles. It started out as a battle between the Crips and the Bloods, but by the late 70's and continuing today, the biggest killer of Crips is other Crips. The Crip Nation was divided into different divisions, which Monster compares to the U.S. Army. "For instance, one who is in the army may belong to the F...
The impression that I made out from watching this film is that back in 1965 in Los Angeles the gangs Crips and Bloods was found to protect black Americans from the violence cause by white police officers and white gang members. During those periods black kids in high school and junior schools were being attacked by white students in school so black people teamed up together to fight against them in school; and that was how the black gangs became. Some gangs were sponsored by Slausons, Farmers, Bausinessmen, and Gladiators. Moving forward, bastards of the party came from a passage in city of quartz which was later made a documentary film in 2005, it was produced by Alex Demyanenko, and directed by a former blood gang member Cle Sloan. Inside this movie, it explored the creation of two of Los Angeles’s notorious gangs Crips and Bloods from the perspective of Los Angeles community.
The documentary, “Crips and Bloods: Made in America” talks about many social concerns. In the documentary, both discrimination and economics are the main factors for the problems in Southern California. The gangs started because of discrimination. By denying people because of their skin color to join social activities such as the boy/girl scouts is what led to the formation of groups that later turned into gangs. Apart from that, hatred and threats escalated the situations that then turned the gangs into what they are today. According to the documentary, because of the gang rivalry there exists an invisible line that separates the territories of both the Crips and the Bloods. Not only is that the only factor, but also
...g measures out there. The reader is given plenty of background information on gangs allowing someone with little knowledge of the subject or the cities’ history to jump right in. Statistics, interviews, surveys and personal observations of the authors during ride-alongs make up much of the source material. The book’s strengths lie in the amount of research contained within it, as well as an insider look at the gang unit and what it takes to be an officer in that specialization. However, if it is not being used to supplement another research paper or study, the book comes off as a difficult and boring read, making a reader likely to put it down otherwise.
The documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America, can be analyzed through three works: “Modern Theories of Criminality” by C.B. de Quirόs, “Broken Windows” by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling and “Social Structure and Anomie” by Robert K. Merton.
One direct quote from the film, Crips and Bloods: Made in America that Differential Association Theory can be used to explain is “I joined a gang not only for the protection but for the love for the unity, to be a part of
CNN presents the documentary, Homicide in Hollenbeck, spotlighting gang activity in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollenbeck. This documentary explores the subculture of gangs existing within Hollenbeck from a several perspectives. The people documented include a mother who lost both of her sons to gang violence, a priest that has tried to help rehabilitate gang members, a police officer that has worked in Hollenbeck for five years in the gang unit, and a current gang member. For a conclusion, Homicide in Hollenbeck focuses on a juvenile exposed to gang life on the cusp of decided where they want their life to lead; gangs or freedom. Problems attributed to the high rate of gang activity and number of gangs in Hollenbeck are the high poverty rate, low employment rate, and broken families that make up the majority of Hollenbeck. The crime most discussed, as per the title of the documentary, is homicide The number of gang related homicides has risen even though the criminal behavior of gangs has ultimately decreased in the neighborhood. In order to fight the overwhelming gang presence, the police believe in increasing the amount of gun power on the streets and number of jailed gang members. The priest who runs Homeboy Industries stated that he feels most gang members are just young men who can’t get out of the gang life. With more funds and opportunities, he thinks the problem could be decreased. In the end, the documentary mentions that the FBI has formed a gang center where local law enforcement agencies can share information to gain more knowledge and to better fight the presence of gangs.
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
People think most gang members are crips or bloods who came from Los Angeles, but today there are a lot of neighborhood sects that cause a lot of mischief (Million). "Gangs are no longer just an urban problem. Ten counties account for 59.2 percent of juveniles handled by the state between 1999 and 2006. These counties account for 74 percent of the identified gang members"(Million). "Many gang members have similar background factors: low educational achievement...
The Crips, as we learned in module 3 are one of the most notorious black or predominately African American gang founded in Southern Los Angeles, California in 1969. This gang was co-found by 16-year-old Raymond Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams III. Even before the Crips however, there was a gang known as the Hoover Groovers. The Hoover Groovers would later form an alliance with the Crips and change their name to Hoover Crips.
The Crips, originating in Los Angeles, California, are one of the oldest, largest, and most notorious gangs in the United States. They have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing in the Los Angeles area. The Crips are mostly identified by the blue color worn by their members. What was once a single gang is now a loose network of "franchises" around the United States. The gang primarily (but not exclusively) comprises African Americans. The Crips have an intense rivalry with the Bloods and are also known to feud with Chicano gangs.
In theory if this trend continues it is estimated that about 1 in 3 black males being born can be expected to spend time in prison and some point in his life. One in nine African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 are currently incarcerated. Although the rate of imprisonment for women is considerably lower than males African American women are incarc... ... middle of paper ... ... King, R., and Mauer, M., (2007).
African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, it is projected that one in every three African Americans born are expected to go to prison. The consequences for black men have radiated out to their families. By 2000, more than 1 million black children had a father in jail or prison"(Coates pg.2). Men going to prison at such high rates has left many women to fend for themselves.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]