I purchased the book Lords of Lawndale and it brought back so many memories when I was gang banging. It was like going back in time. Man , those were the day"s. I'm just glad I survived those crazy times. I think with all my experiences it made me stronger person. Pistol Pete
posted by Pacman at 9:28 PM
13 Comments:
I read the book also..I admire them for holdin down there block agisnt over whelming odds..And kept on believing in what they were doing..That goes out for all the GL in that time...And still GLs today.
gangfilm said...
interesting article about the Political aspect of the Young Lords. There are two things which stand out to me.
First, There is a mention of collusion between White Gangs and Police. I see no evidence of that presented, and am not aware of any credible news stories to support that claim. I think you would be hard pressed to find any tangible evidence of a true alliance between Chicago's finest and White Gangs during the 1960's or 1970’s. I would acknowledge that there is the potential for the officers to have chosen to look the other way, preferring not to get involved, but this was done informally. If the crime was serious, arrests were made to both parties, regardless of race.
Secondly; after talking to several white gangs members this statement seems to be the EXACT reason why there was so much animosity between White Gangs and Puerto Rican gangs. "Instead of trying to assimilate into American society they confront American society." Every other ethnic group who came to America was forced to drop certain aspects of there culture and identity. This is unfortunate, but they are willing because of the benefit of making a better life for their children. Italian-Amerians, Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc....
When the riots of '66 took place, even a lot of liberal Caucasians changed their viewpoint. Violence gets an immediate response, but creates lasting lifelong hatred. Today they will just gentrify your Humboldt Park neighborhood, just like they did to your Lincoln Park neighborhood in the 60’s. Goodbye tasty PR food stands in the park, and hello more corporate Starbucks Coffee shops.
Read the book American Pharaoh - Mayor Richard J Daley and his battle for Chicago and the Nation. (Adam Cohen & Elizabeth Taylor). It will clearly outline how much real estate money was made by scaring white residents out of neighborhoods, flipping the properties several times in one year, and then the banks repossessing the homes because the new tenants can’t really afford them. This then further decreases the property values so fast that the only people who will now live there are generally the lowest class. This creates slums and blight. Research the original Chicago Housing Projects. Did you know they were Integrated? They had a careful screening process that made you prove stable employment. It worked! Black, Whites and Latins all living together. A liberal hippies wet dream back in the early 50’s! Then due to machine politics, the screening process went away, they moved a bunch of deadbeats into the buildings. Look at who owned the contracting companies to do the upkeep on the projects. Who cares if you break the elevator every damn day of the week, the service man comes out and still charges the city for the work. The city is paying out of a federal grant that Richard J Daley had exclusive control over.
Anyway, Chicago politics and Race relations are always interesting.
I would of used my name to log in but I couldn't for some reason, this is Mr Saint. Rocker good book Im still in the USMC and your'e book brought back mant memories of the past. I dont blame you for the deaths that happened that you where around. Sometimes its just bad luck or in the wrong place at the wrong time. Goodluck to you, take care of wife and your'e kids
Mr Saint
MR. SAINT, IT IS GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU MAN. LONG TIME SINCE I SEEN YOUR FACE OR SHARED A BEER WITH YOU. I AM ALSO GRATIFIDE BY YOUR KIND REMARKS. YOU ARE AN HONORABLE MAN. PLEASE STAY IN CONTACT WITH THIS SITE SO I MAY FIND A WAY TO SEEK A MORE PERSONAL RESPONSE WITH YOU. I WOULD LIKE TO SEND YOU SOME OF THE NEW REVISED COPIES OF THE BOOK, SEEING HOW YOUR A CHARACTER WITHIN IT. MAN,IT WOULD REALLY BE GOOD TO SEE YOU ONCE AGAIN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND THOSE WHO ARE SERVING WITH YOU.
I KNOW THAT THERE ARE WAY MORE PICTURES PEOPLE TOOK AT THE 2004 BOOK GATHERING HOW ABOUT LETTING US SEE THEM LOT OF COOL PICTURES THAT WERE NOT PUT IN .WHERE ARE THEY ? COME ON PEOPLE.
If anybody wants to leave a simple message in my documentary film, just give me a shout. I'll be in Chi-Town From July 15 thru July 25. This is a chance to talk and revisit the glory of old. Already I have some old g'ees from the '50's who will talk about the beginnnings. They respect the nation. Looking forward to the initial talks. Feel free to email at
gangfilm@hotmail.com or call me on my cell at (310) 383-7169
hi zack
i don't know that much about the boys.. that is my mission, to find more about them.. if you want to find more about the gl nation, go to the websire www.gl712.com As far as I remember , they were a big forcce of white boys who were lower middle class whites from the inner city, qho fought and stoud tall , without the drug dealing and back stabbing that is common in chi-town street tuffs today. It's a differrent world. In my day , it was about holding down yout hood, for PRIDE. Nothinh less , nothing more... Now a days, it's about making the money, and that is what caused the parents of the gang members to get scared, if you wanted to hold down the hood, it turned from fist fists , to knifes, to some serious automatic riflw fire power in a matter of 5-8 years. Well white boys held the hood, but when yout quality of life drops down to a shoot em up life style, you move yout family welll the fuck out of the neighborhood. If you have older family who can not afford to move, because the are retired, then it really bums you out... Here are working class 60+ year old people who raised their families in a nice neighborhood, and then when they are retired , they see some black and hispanic people selling drugs 24 hour 7 days a week right in front of the street corners where they saw there children grow up... They can't afford to move, yet they used to complain about there sons and daughters writing graffitti on all the buildings, and they thought there children were bad seeds.. Except now, 15-20 years later, they can not go to the bank in broad daylight, without a fear of some drug addicted mof robbing them of the retirement check.... It says a lot... Back in the day we held down the hood... For Honor and Priide... We never exploited are neighbors... We triied to keep the hood safe, from crime and druge... it was only when rivals
started to roll up with automatic weapons, that we moved out.... it's a shame because we kept the hood clean from drugs and crime.. welcome to the 21sr century... it's a different ballgame
To the post above which speaks on showing photos from the book party:
You must understand that many of those shots are private. Many guys dont want to have their faces displayed. Besides the privicy factor, whatever happened to just being able to take pictures for personal enjoyment like a keepsake to remember the day. Not everything is for the net.
YOU GUYS NEED TO ADD GIP FROM MARQUETTE PARK GAYLORDS TO THE R-I-P PAGE
WE NEED MORE INFO ON "GIP" AND MARGUETTE PARK IN ORDER TO THAT BUB.
THE GAYLORDS NAME WAS SLANDERED BY THE CHICAGO MOBS SITE WITH THAT FAKE ARTICLE.IS ALLEN B A COP?OR A GAYLORD HATER?I'AM WITH BUTCH!
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Well, I aint Anonymous, and I aint Bub, but I can tell ya a little bit about Gip. His real name was Randy Gibson. He ran by Gip when I met him and thru the years I hung with him. I'm not sure which of the sets around Marquette he ran with, but he always maintained that he had been the v.p. of it. Only thing I can say for proof is an interview my ol lady did of him in 1976 where he talks about it. His moms usedta complain about the cops taking their sweaters for "evidence" when they were in the park. He lived at 52nd & Bishop.
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