African American in the 1980s

Abby Broadfoot AMCS 273 My Inspiration for This Project

When I first began this project, I had no idea where to start. Following our lectures from our librarian, I decided to talk to people that grew up in the 1980s in order to gain anecdotal evidence and find a place to start doing my research. When I asked my dad about his experiences growing up in the 1980s, he had a lot of information and experience with African American culture during this time, which is what my section of SYRCE focuses on, because he grew up in a predominantly African American neighborhood. While his experiences aren’t reflective of the real African American experience, because he is Caucasian, all of his friends, neighbors, classmates, and teachers were of color therefore he had more knowledge about the subject than I did. Because his neighborhood was an impoverished neighborhood, there was a lot of and drug activity which is what a lot of his memories revolved around. This inspired me to do my own research about what African American gangs were like during this time and how they impacted African American culture as a whole. Gang life is only one of many aspects of the African American experience and is not reflective of the entire culture as a whole, it is just the aspect that I chose to research for this project. The Effects of

According to the National Gang Center, during the 1960s and the 1970s on 1970s there was a significant growth of African American gang the 1980s population, in specifically, due to the pattern of African American migration and “racial intimidation, school and residential segregation, extreme marginalization, and racial exclusion from mainstream Los Angeles.” (Howell) This influx of impoverished African American gang members directly influenced gang culture in the 1980s because the gangs grew significantly allowing a more organized group to flourish when new incentives were introduced, such as the introduction of crack , money, and rap. Prominent LA , African American Gangs in the 1980s

1. The a. By the beginning of 1973 there were eight Crip gangs in the LA area that were partly responsible for 29 gang related . b. The Crips outnumbered other gangs and constantly terrorized them. 2. The a. 10 other small, non-Crip gangs met on Piru Street in Compton to form what is now known as the Bloods in response to the growing number of the Crips.

Other LA Gang Facts:

● LA County reported that it had 30,000 gang members and 355 deaths in 1980 alone ● By 1996 there were 274 gangs in Los Angeles County ● These gangs main focus was to make money by using drugs as a business ● Many African American gangs at this time were branches of the Bloods or Crips ● “Wherever unemployment, poverty, and racism existed, gangs could attract members”

Source: Organized Gang Activity: Drugs and Violence

The National Drug Intelligence Center states that, “gangs often introduce heightened levels of and retail-level drug distribution in suburban communities to which they migrate.” One crime that is linked to gang activity is homicides, data from the FBI and UCR suggest that gangs were implicated in approximately 900 homicides per year in the . According to enforcement officials, most gang related homicides are due to turf wars over drug distribution. In Florida for example, “The violence is the result of locally affiliated Bloods and Crips gangs protecting their drug distribution locations from Sureños 13 and Latin King members who are migrating into the area from Miami and attempting to establish drug trafficking operations.” In addition, these gangs are known for arbitrarily committing random acts of violence to advance their reputation. The Attorney General gives an example of this: “members of in indiscriminately shot innocent African American citizens in an effort to intimidate rival African American gangs.” As previously stated, gangs dominate retail-level distribution of drugs, however, they are increasingly becoming involved in wholesale level drug trafficking. (Attorney General) Social Effects on Gang Life:

Gangsta rap is a sub genre of hip hop music that later evolved into more hardcore rap. The genre started off with rappers such as Schooll D and Ice-T in the early 1980s and was popularized later on in the 80s by groups such as N.W.A. According to World Press, “some gangsta rappers have been associated, or allegedly have ties with the Bloods or Crips gangs.” (World Press) This type of music has become extremely controversial while people accuse the music of promoting “crime, serial killing, violence, profanity, sex addiction, homophobia, racism, promiscuity, misogny, , street gangs, drive by shootings, , thievery, drug dealing, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, disregarding law enforcement, materialism, and narcissim.” (World Press) Due to this controversy, many gangsta rap artists have come out saying that they are “being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum,” and that they are “describing the reality of inner-city life, and that they are only adopting a character, like an actor playing a role, which behaves in ways that they may not necessarily endorse.” (World Press) Boyz-n-the-Hood by Eazy E *Warning: Explicit Language* Gangsta Rap: continued…

Whether or not you agree with the violence or Gangsta Rap Song Highlights (All Music) explicit language shown in gangsta rap songs, it is clear that the music, made by some 1. Boyz-n-the Hood by Eazy-E but also by some posers, was 2. Big Poppa by the Notorious B.I.G. exposing the real experiences that were 3. F*** Tha by N.W.A happening in the ghettos all across America. 4. New Jack Hustler by Ice-T Some songs showed the gang life as positive, 5. I Miss My Homies by Master P / Silkk the Shocker such as by promoting the money, women, 6. Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta by Geto Boys drugs, and violence that came along with being 7. The Ghetto by Too $hort 8. Was the Case by Snoop Dogg a high ranking gang member, while others showed the true devasty that was happening to *All Songs Can Be Found On Spotify If You Would Like to the African American community due to those Listen- Warning Explicit Content* same things that others promoted as positive. Gangsta Gangsta by N.W.A. *Warning: Explicit Language* The Effects of

The 90s were influenced significantly by the 80s due to The 1980s On the increase of drug distribution and violence. During The 1990s the 80s drug and gang task forces were formed in order to prevent more crime in the streets and to stop the emergence of new gangs. This however brought more and more gang members into the system during the 90s which led to influential prison gangs who had more control on street gangs in urban and suburban areas when their members were released from prison. (Attorney General) Summary of the Chronological Effects of Gangs

In conclusion, the 1970s directly impacted African American gang culture in the 80s by increasing the number of members in black gangs because of the African American migration and racial inequalities. The 80s were of big importance in African American gang culture because this is when the gangs began to use all of their members for a bigger purpose when gangster rap and crack cocaine were introduced. The 1980s also brought forth drug and gang task forces because of the increasing crime rates and drug distribution. These task forces directly impacted the 1990s and beyond when it came to African American gangs because they put more and more gang members in the prison system which gave them all a whole new network of connections and street credit. Images of African American Gangs in the 1980s and Beyond “Three "wanna-be's" of the Dodge City Crips/Second Street in San Pedro.” -Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images (Deron) “A member of the Grape Street Crips poses with his purple bandana and flashes his affiliation with a double 'C.'” -Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images (Deron) “Gang members get arrested during an LAPD police sweep.” -Paul Harris/Getty Images (Deron) “A factory wall with painted graffiti in Los Angeles, . Rivalries between Bloods in red and Crips in blue are ongoing feuds played out with graffiti battles by crossing one off with an opposing color and monikers of their gang.” -Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images (Margaritoff) “An LAPD officer searches a suspected gang member. Los Angeles, California. June 10, 1988.”-Jean Marc Giboux/Liaison/Getty Images (Margaritoff) “A closeup of a Blood gang member's battle scars.” -PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images (Margaritoff) “Members of the Rolling 20's Bloods sitting in front of their friend's gravesite. Los Angeles, California. Jan. 1, 1995.” -PYMCA/UIG/Getty Images (Margaritoff) Citations

All Music. Gangsta Rap Music Genre Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.allmusic.com/style/gangsta-rap-ma0000002611

Attorney General. (2008, April). The Growth of Gangs in Suburban Areas. The Growth of Gangs in Suburban Areas - Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas (UNCLASSIFIED). https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs27/27612/growth.htm.

Deron, B. (2019, January 12). From Skid Row To The Whisky A Go Go: 44 Retro Pics Of Everyday Life In 1980s L.A. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://allthatsinteresting.com/1980s-los-angeles

Howell, J. C., & Moore, J. P. (2010, May). History of Street Gangs In The United States. National Gang Center . https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/content/documents/history-of-street-gangs.pdf.

Margaritoff, M. (2019, May 06). 21 Raw Photos Of Life Inside The Bloods, The Fearsome L.A. Street Gang. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://allthatsinteresting.com/bloods-gang-photos

Organized Crime - Crips And Bloods: Black American Gangs In Los Angeles. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://law.jrank.org/pages/11947/Organized-Crime-Crips-Bloods-Black-American-gangs-in-Los-Angeles.html

World Press. (2014, April 11). Gangsta Rap. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://historyofthehiphop.wordpress.com/music-genres/gangsta-rap/