History of the Crips

The Crips were co-founded by Stanley Williams and Raymond Washington. Williams argued that this was after the two became fed up with random violence in their neighborhood. Law enforcement officials dispute this, pointing to the incredible amount of violent crimes the gangmembers participated in, even in the early years.

The original name of the gang founded by Raymond Washington in 1969 at the age of 15 was the Avenue Babies, derived from a gang of older boys in the 1960s, named the Avenue Boys with their turf on Central Avenue in East Los Angeles. This evolved to Avenue Cribs and then Cribs as nicknames for the age of the 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 (though there is some discussion that it may have initiallly been a simple spelling mistake). The name stuck. [1]

Stanley Tookie Williams joined the gang in 1971, and the gang evolved into the Westside Crips. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more and more youth gangs joined it; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1. In response, some of the besieged smaller gangs formed an alliance that later became the Bloods. Some of the most notorious Crip sets (subgroups of a bigger gang) include LA's Rollin' 60 Nhood Crips (Westside Rich Rollin' 60 Neighborhood Crips), Rollin' 30 Nhood Crips (Westside Rollin' 30 Neighborhood Crips aka Dirty 30s), Rich Rollin 90 crips and Neighborhood 90 crips, Watts' Grape Street Watts Crips (who wear purple as opposed to blue), Long Beach's Insane Crips, and Compton's South Side Compton Crips (blamed for 2Pac's murder). Contrary to popular misconception, Crip sets do not feud solely with Bloods, but also other Crip sets — for example, the Rollin' 60s and 83rd Street Ganster Crips ("Eight-Trey" but pronounced "A-Trey") have been rivals since 1979, and their rivalry is currently the largest in L.A.

Expansion

By the early 1980's, Crips gangs were so heavily involved in the drug trade that they commenced an expansion throughout the United States to sell a new form of cocaine called crack. Crack was a huge leap forward for the gang, since it could be sold in small, inexpensive packages. Powdered cocaine was expensive and therefore popular among the wealthy where the Crips had little influence; crack cocaine changed that by allowing the gang member to target the inner city where its muscle ensured smooth distribution. This raked in profits and helped to greatly expand their influence, often by addicts who became members and dealers as a way to preserve their addiction.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the Crips developed intricate networks and a respected reputation with other gangs across America and neighboring countries. Similar to the Italian Mafia, membership in a crip set is proposed by an existing member. This proposal is known as being "put on." For example, a youth who exhibits the characteristics of the crip "blue" lifestyle is extended an invitation with the slogan "yo little cuz, I'm gonna put you on."

In Los Angeles alone, there are now an estimated 12,000 Crips, 5,000 Bloods, 30,000 Latino gangsters, and about 250 gang-related murders every year. There are an estimated 1,500 Crips and 1,000 Bloods in California jails. [2]

To stem violence between the Crips and Bloods, a peace treaty was recently negotiated, most notably in Watts, the treaty being largely based upon the ideals laid forth by original Crip founder Stanley Tookie Williams in his "Tookie Protocol For Peace". Though violence levels have been reduced somewhat after the conclusion of this peace treaty, gangland killings and warfare persist in heavily gang-controlled areas.

Gang identification

For many years, Crips were characterized by their tendency to wear blue in order to easily identify each other. One suggested origin of the selected color is traced to the school colors of Washington High School in South L.A.. Crips also wear blue bandanas and British Knights sport shoes (using the company moniker BK, which the Crips use as a backronym meaning "Blood Killas"). They usually refer derogatively to their rival, the Bloods, as "slobs." The crip gang members call each other "Cuzz."

In more recent years, however, the Crips have begun to cease the use of colors as a means of identification, since it is likely to draw attention from police (and because of a lot of "wannabes" who try to impersonate the look, but don't live the lifestyle or who have not been officially initiated). Methods such as the use of college sport team jerseys and hats are sometimes used, but in general, what set a certain gang member claims is determined solely by their tattoos (or knowledge of where they live).

Baseball Cap Examples:

• 80s Houston Astros cap with the "H" and the star are worn by Hoover Crips.

• San Francisco Giants cap with the "SF" are worn by 74th Street Crips or Seven-Fo.

• San Diego Padres cap with the "SD" are worn by 62nd Street Crips or Six-Deuce.

• Chicago Cubs cap with the letter "C" on it worn by all Crips.

• Los Angeles Dodgers cap worn because of the color. Very popular.

• Michigan Wolverine cap with the letter "M" worn by Main Street Gangster Crips.

• Brooklyn Dodgers cap with the letter "B" worn by Broadway Gangster Crips.

Origin of the name "Crips"

There have been many different explanations for the origin of the name of the gang:

• The most well-known theories tie the current name with "crib" or "crib street" (alluding to an actual street or the young age of the members at the time of the gang's founding).

• Crip or crib originates from the carrying of a cane or stick —

Los Angeles Times 14 April 1992: "Word spread about the tough-looking young men, who some said carried canes and walked with a limp — cripples, or crips, they were called for short."

• Some alleged backronyms for the name include:

• Community (or California) Revolution In Progress.

• Community Resources for an Independent People

Crips, hip-hop, and C-walk

Many popular rappers, in particular West Coast rappers, have close ties to Crips gangs in L.A. County. Snoop Dogg is a former member of the Rollin' 20 Crips in Long Beach (as are Warren G, Nate Dogg, and Goldie Loc), while WC is from 111 Neighborhood Crips in South Los Angeles. The late N.W.A member Eazy-E reportedly had ties to the Kelly Park Compton Crips. Recently signed G-Unit rapper Spider Loc is also a known Crip gang member. However, there are also many rappers who are not members of Crips sets, yet take on traits of the Crip image and behavior because they hope to self-promote and sell records by doing so. Ice Cube has at times claimed to be a member of the Rollin' 60 Nhood Crips, even though he has no proven ties to this gang (aside from the fact that he is from the same area), and Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy has also claimed to be a Crip in some songs (also without any proof).

The popular hip-hop dance, the C-walk (Crip-walk), was originated by Crip gang members. Some fans do not realize the seriousness of the dance; Crip members assert that it should never be performed by non-gang members. The dance is meant to spell out one's set as an insult to rival gangs. On WC's song "The Streets" from his Ghetto Heisman album, he and Snoop Dogg rap about the C-walk and address its popularity in the mainstream, warning suburban teenagers and other non-gang members that it is a dance for Crips only.

Rappers with Crip affiliations

• Brotha Lynch Hung - 24th Street Garden Blocc Crips (Sacramento)
• CJ Mac - Rollin' 60 Nhood Crips (Los Angeles)
• Daz Dillinger - Rollin' 20 Crips (Long Beach)
• Eazy-E - Kelly Park Compton Crips (Compton)
• Goldie Loc (of Tha Eastsidaz) - Rollin' 20 Crips (Long Beach)
• MC Eiht - Tragniew Park Compton Crips (Compton)
• Nate Dogg - Rollin' 20 Crips (Long Beach)
• Snoop Dogg - Rollin' 20 Crips (Long Beach)
• Spider Loc - 97th Street East Coast Crips (Los Angeles)
• Tray Deee (of Tha Eastsidaz) - Insane Crips (Long Beach)
• Warren G - Rollin' 20 Crips (Long Beach)
• WC - 111 Neighborhood Crips (Los Angeles)

See also

• Banging on Wax (CD)
• Gang Signals (Flashing)

Reference

• Bing, Leon (1991). Do or Die: America's Most Notorious Gangs Speak for Themselves. Sagebrush. ISBN 0833584995

• Stanley Tookie Williams (2005). Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir (PB) ISBN 0975358405

• Colton Simpson, Ann Pearlman, Ice T (Foreword) (2005). Inside the Crips : Life Inside L.A.'s Most Notorious Gang (HB) ISBN 0312329296

• Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, Ice T, UPRISING : Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire, ISBN 0684804603

• Stanley Tookie Williams, co-founder of the Crips Alliance was executed on December 13, 2005 at 12:35am Pacific time for over 370 organized murders in the 1970s and early 1980s. Williams was sentenced to 24 years on death row in 1981 for the murders of a 26 year old convenience store clerk, elderly Asian couple and their 43 year old daughter.

External links

• Snopes Urban Legend – The origin of the name Crips
• LA-based gangs – An overview of LA-based gangs
• Gang Reduction through Intervention, Prevention and Education - Crips profile
• Crips and Blood Alphabet – Crips and Bloods Alphabet
• Los Angeles Gang History – A comprehensive examination into Los Angeles gang historyde:Bloods und Crips