Tookie & The Crips Gang

The controversy over the execution of Stanley “Tookie” Williams is causing many people, particularly L.A. residents, to think about the role of the Crips gang in L.A.’s social strata. Here is a link to the story of the Crips gang:

“The Crips were formed by Stanley Tookie Williams,and Raymond Washington in 1969, after the two became fed up with random violence in their neighborhood. The original name of the gang was the word Cribs from the first name of the gang, the Avenue Babies, and a reference to their youthfulness. The name Crips was first introduced in the Los Angeles Sentinel in a description by crime victims of young men with canes, as if they were crippled. The name stuck.”

Click here for detailed information on the various Crips “sets” throughout L.A.

TheStateOf. . . The Crips.When I was a teen growing up in Los Angeles, it was nearly impossible for me to go outside–to a party, to the mall, to a friend’s house, whatever–without having some sort of contact with gang members. Shootings were a weekly occurrence. Of course I was never a gang member, but I did know many. My feelings toward gangsters were a uniquely adolescent combination of fear, respect, loathing and idolization. Kind of like how white kids feel about black kids. While I avoided them, I studied their patois and always stayed abreast on news of the latest gang wars, mostly so I could sound tough to other people. To be sure, gangsters acted like savages, to the point that I literally felt like I was taking my life into my own hands by wearing anything close to red or blue. Once of my worst memories in life was going rollerskating in a red T- shirt. The result: some Crips chased me from the skating rink, and I hid behind some cars until my Dad came and picked me up. I also remember going to an LL Cool J concert with my cousin once. I dressed in all black; he dressed in all white; all to avoid confrontation. Things have calmed down in L.A. since then. All those guys I came up with are dead. Or in jail. And gang banging lost its cache after the riots and the subsequent truce. When I was a senior in high school, there were 724 gang-related murders in L.A. County. In 2000, by contrast, there were 448.