In the end, Chicago's Folk Gangs are killing themselves off.
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In the end, Chicago's Folk Gangs are killing themselves off.
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In 1980 there was not one Latino gang with a foothold within the confines of Pulaski Avenue going west and Armitage Avenue going north, the white wonderland of Chicago's Northwest-side. However, by 1990, Latino gangs had implanted themselves within those confines. Nesting at the old boundary line of Armitage there were gangs such as the Spanish Cobras (Cicero-N-Armitage) and the Latin Eagles(Kenneth-N-Armitage). Running northward from Armitage, for about a mile and a half, there are more Latino gangs with footholds. The white wonderland boundary line has now fallen back to Belmont Avenue. Technically two city streets north of Belmont Avenue as the Latin Kings advertise that they have a set right behind Foreman High School at School-N-Lavergne. But, the Latin Kings don't frequent the proped-up corners; they loosely bounce around the surrounding area. Latin Brothers also loosely bounce around the same area. Both gangs, bonded under the People unity, had not U-Hauled into the general area all at once. Both were initiated by seedlings. In the late 1980s the Latin Brothers were slowly fermenting on Belmont-N-Central under the eye of Cocaine-pushing Carlos, a Latin Brother brainiac who had moved into an apartment right on the busied intersection, and his gang is block-stocked by 1990. And, in 1986, on the pristine corners of School-N-Lavergne, the Latin Kings' fever was injected into some suave white teenagers, schooled by some Latin King members while they were attending Foreman High School. At the time of the indoctrination School-N-Lavergne is far-far-away from being a war-zone. The idling recruits are most likely mesmerized by the iconic image that the Latin Kings stamp the streets with.
The white wonderland still existed. Just beyond Belmont Avenue going north and Cicero going west a Hobbit could basically still go on a ring-quest all the way clear to O'Hare Airport and not be molested by any encamped Latino gangs. Matter-of-fact, only two accredited gangs are stationed in this region; the Jefferson Park C-Notes, and their adversaries, hobbyists and connoisseurs for the Gaylords at the trot-spot of Central-N-Berteau AKA Portage Park.
Place a time machine on the south side of Belmont Avenue and travel back to 1970 and then flash-forward up to 1990. And, you can observe that the Gaylords had numerous hang spots through the twenty year period:Palmer-N-Califoria, Augusta-N-Monticello, Leavitt-N-Lyndale, Moffat-N-Cambell, Ohio-N-Noble, Long-N-Oakdale, Beldon-N-Knox, Lawndale-N-Altgeld, Springfield-N-Lemoyne, Kolmar-N-George, Kildare-N-Fullerton, 18th-N-Western, Keystone-N-Wabansia, Wrightwood Street, St. Gens School, 55th-N-Ashland and so on. By 1990, the only Gaylords' outpost south of Belmont Avenue was Sayre Park, where the Gaylords still are black-stemmed, baby blue roses, with razor sharp thorns within the fine-fresh grounds. Spacious as their turf is they have vined out from Sayre Park and are currently congregating at the intersection of Grand-N-Harlem. At face value, the Sayre Park Gaylords appear to be a bunch of Prince Valiant’s as they sit on their thrown within Duk's fast-food-pit, however, they will be soon be challenged by some Dragons. Members of the Insane Dragons, a hyper-violent Latino gang from Humboldt Park, have smashed down near Sayre Park and are looking to reproduce and reconstruct. Before long the two gangs are street-jousting for romping rights of the area.
By 1990, another white gang that is street-jousting are the Jousters who have been regurgitated at Hanson Park. Along with having heritage ties with the Gaylords, they have the same exact foes. Another Gaylord-friendly white gang that has materialized by 1990 is the Stoned Freaks at Diversey-N-Kilbourn, just about four city streets south of the Kilbourn Park Gaylords. These Stoned Freaks are the evolution of the same Freaks that fought on Armitage Avenue back in the early 1980s, as the Latino culture clashed with their own. A bit dehumanizing it is to have to trade in your grazing-spot and fall back, not just Americanized youths but masses of area residents, everyday commoners.
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When Gaylords were ethnically-cleansed along with their particular neighborhoods that they had been in defense of, escapists had to press on like many residents did. Multitudes of Gaylords just gave up and opted to pursue other alternatives in life. After all, the Gaylords' entitlement was just the icing on the cake. The cake itself was the very hood that they had carved out their existence in, many since grammar school days. And, with the snow globe of their neighborhood, containing the confetti of youthful memories, now shattered and the remains being culturally transformed, Gaylords had to become actual transformers themselves. Not everyone can be a Megaton when transforming, not such an easy task to accomplish; warring with the incoming Latino gangs not only produced deaths, it produced police records, no diplomas, no finances and mental scar tissue. Hard to carve out a productive life.
Not all Gaylords pursued other alternatives in life. Like a storming lumberjack with fixated eyes many 1980s Gaylords transgressed over to 1990s. The cause was not to be so easily discarded by certain individuals; they had too much invested already: blood, sweat, tears.
Kilbourn Park was a safe haven for Gaylords from abandoned hoods: Leavitt-N-Lyndale, Cleveland School, Lawndale-N-Altgeld. And, as some Gaylords recycled themselves and sprung up at Kilbourn Park this Gaylord section has a new face lift which bears the notable marks of the seasoned and the sensational. Unfortunately, during the face lift procedure, back in 1989, a good handful of Kilbourn Park Gaylords had actually disconnected themselves from park politics. This was mostly due to individuals being mentally pistol-whipped by the disturbing occurrence of 3 rogue Gaylords killing another Gaylord; the violators were now out-casted separatists, at odds with most of Kilbourn Park. When the carry-ons from other Gaylords sections get settled into Kilbourn Park, the picture of a perfected park is tainted by the awakenings of another Gaylord having been murdered by castoffs.
Despite the dilemma of rogue Gaylords having killed another Gaylord, Kilbourn is solid as a rock with an all-star line up. Since the early 1970s Kilbourn Park has been maintained with valor and vigilance. Their reputed name is a bullet-proof-vest in itself that has rivals nervy about taking a turf-tour. Added to that, their turf has plenty of roaming room with no Latino gangs seizing their hood. The likes of Maniac Latin Disciples, Spanish Cobras and others are festering on neighborhoods to the southeast, about a mile away. To the east of Kilbourn Park, on the other side of auto-zoned Pulaski Avenue, there are some loyalists to the Simon City Royals' creed. However, there are the Newport Street Gaylords which street-scuffle with them these days. Newport Gaylords are an off-shoot of Kilbourn Park, basically the younger guys within the arena of Kilbourn park. In 1986, Newport Gaylords were trainees trying to get their bearings. Along with having taken lessons from tenacious Kilbourn Park Gaylords, some Newport Gaylords were visitors to Lawndale-N-Altgeld, where they are involved in the special effects going on over there, just as that section was hanging on to life support and fading fast. By 1990, the Newport Gaylords are established impressionists and inspirers. They even spawn off a grouping of Gaylords in Addison, Illinois. Back in Chi-Town, Newport Gaylords are also intermingling with some northern brethren, the Seeley-N-Ainslie Gaylords.
Over three miles to the north-east the Seeley-N-Ainsle Gaylords are still wolf packed up in Winnemac Park with its primitive Gaylords markings. Like other Gaylord sets their nucleus is made up 1980s veterans, so the majority of them are seasoned soldiers. Seeley-N-Ainslie has befriended some Newport Street Gaylords and outings with them have taken place. Seeley-N-Ainslie is also dealing with their own habituate convulsions. To the east of their hood the Brazers are still grazing at Chase Park with their posted Mexican flags. Additionally, the Latin Kings are corner-cluttered with over five spots in the vicinity, and there still are frozen feelings between the Gaylords and them. Another adversary is a Black gang, members of the Black Gangster Disciples who are trying to muscle in on Seeley-N-Ainslie territory. And in the process two Gaylords are arrested for the murder of a Black Gangster Disciple.
The Sunnyside-N-Magnolia Gaylords also have a Black gang stirring about their hood. With moonbeam-ish pyramids as their symbolization, and also fellow riders under the People umbrella, the Black P. Stones had been streaming into the Sunnyside-N-Magnolia territory with a free-access-pass since the late 1980s. This diplomatic process was actually being duplicated all over Chicagoland with diversified components of both People and Folk unities. For instance, as the Gaylords were giving the green light for a pre-treatment of Black B. Stones to shoot-hoops at the neighborhood playlot, in another area of Chicago's North side the Insane Deuces were allowing the Latin Kings to hold court in the projects within Deuces' hood. However, by 1991 the Insane Deuces and Latin Kings relationship had became strained as the Latin Kings went to crown ownership rights to the projects themselves, and a war breaks out. This is the first case of infighting involving two People subscribers. And because of this war the Deuces will have a new subscription in by 1993, when they actually switch over to the Folk unity. In regards to the Gaylords and Black P. Stones, eventually, free-access-passes become back-stage-passes. And in the impoverished area, a marvel-team-up is made and a gritty survival method is ventured upon. Leadership for the Gaylords decides to break taboo and start selling drugs with Black P. Stones members. More imperative then anything to any gang in the Uptown area, is to escape the grip of destitution.
By 1993, whites are the minority in Uptown. Ultimately, not easy to be a white youth at all on Chicago's streets and even worse was to be one that was pad-locked away in Cook County Jail. For the Gaylords, gray-bar confinement is where the People membership-card really pays off. Once incarcerated, you become a splintered-off piece of your hood that is exposed to the atrocities and having some corporate sponsorship is a plus-asset.
Fight fire with fire long enough and you will become consumed in the flames of it all. General Sherman of the American Civil war once stated, "War is hell..." He is speaking of course about the desecration and eradication of other humanoids over grievances or beliefs. And as a war escalates there is always a capacity to what an individual soldier can mentally tolerate. An individual's reality can get drastically altered and oftentimes when this symptom occurs the individual seeks out an alternative to escape reality, drug usage. Irrelevant and discomforting urban-gang-war may be to many socialites, never-the-less, it is a war with all the primary ingredients. In the early 1990s almost all gangs had members that were suffering from drug addictions. The Gaylords nerve-center was 1980s veterans that had eye witnessed that particular mind-altering gun slinger era on Chicago's streets, and in that nerve-center drug usage was at an all time high. More devastating, as new comers rally around the Gaylord banner they just follow the lead, and it appears customary to dwindle away on drugs.
On the tagger-scribbled streets of Chicago hardcore drugs such as Heroin and crack were easy to obtain. The majority of those street corners where Latino gangs had footholds were now drug-marts with cash-to-curb transactions, dusk to dawn. Black gangs were also corner-churning-out drugs in mass quantity. The turf wars from the 1960s through the 1980s produce some mighty fine real estate to open operations from. Sure, in the very beginning stages it was probably a survival tactic that individual bangers ventured upon to combat personal hardships, but as things escalated it became very lucrative for their entire gang to be employed in the drug biz. And, humongous drug sales produce a humongous gang.
Gaylords had no curb side operations. Yes, at one point leadership for the Sunnyside-N-Magnolia Gaylords' had broken taboo and opted to sell drugs with the assistance of Black P. Stones, but that detonated right in their faces and those involved were now prison bound. Jail, drug addictions, White Flight; these are factors that drained the Gaylords membership at Sunnyside-N-Magnolia. By 1996, there is just a speckle of paint-affixed crosses and the Gaylords' element at this despairing dugout. Over all, Uptown itself is going through a detrimental race transformation. Black Gangster Disciples, Vicelords and Black P. Stones are now the pitchmen for the general area. At Sunnyside-N-Magnolia, as Gaylords phase out more Black P. Stones are pouring in. Black P. Stones become street side, drug-misers once they are hood-maxed. Gaylords do trickle in now on then on Magnolia, but there are ill-feelings about consorting with the new breed. City-wide, the new breed is about securing real estate in order to massively exchange drugs for the green paper with the dead American presidents printed on it. New breed also goes murder-ific for all the wrong reasons. And the reality of that mentality becomes crystal clear at Sunnyside-N-Magnolia, when a 14-year-old regulator for the Black P. Stones feels high seated enough to torpedo a car with bullets, containing Gaylords, just because he is mad-minded. Geronimo from the Seeley-N-Ainslie Gaylords perishes from this altercation.
Due to Geronimo's death the Gaylords and Black P. Stones are now on the list of "un-united nations." Realistically, the gang-kabobs of People and Folks had no sanctions for infractions made while intermingling under their umbrellas. When two gangs had a fall out within either unification they both just continued launching stinger missiles at each other, while still bearing their Folks or People name badges. This complication was contagious and involved a variety of gangs: Maniac Latin Disciples VS Spanish Cobras, Latin Kings VS Latin Counts, Imperial Gangsters VS Spanish Cobras, Bishops VS Latin Counts, Simon City Royals VS Spanish Cobras and so on. Eventually, mutations of sub-alliances develop to counter-attack other groups that are forming together within the Folk and People unities. These sub alliances even create labializations for themselves such as "Insane Folks" or "Maniac Folks.
In the case of Simon City Royals VS Spanish Cobras, one of the infractions that occurred during their specific intermingling was the take-over of Kosciuszko Park by the Cobras from the Royals. Latino gangs were fated to take over most of Chicago's inner-city due to the constant injection of Hispanic immigration, in many cases illegal. Whether the predominately white Simon City Royals were corporate sponsored or not, culture clashing superseded everything. The Spanish Cobras swept out the Simon City Royals even though they were both Folk affiliates. When Latino gangs flooded in it was not just the take-over of hoods, in some cases it was also the gang itself; if a white gang did not flat line, it converted over. By 2000, white gangs such as the Jousters and Stoned Freaks flat lined off Chicago's street. Whereas the Simon City Royals and C-Notes were able to maintain their proactive status after they did a culture-mutation. In regards to the Gaylords, they refused to convert themselves and in the process they were going extinct.
Like all families a gang needs a "next generation" to pass the torch on to but without one it dissolves. By 2000, on Chicago' North-side, the Gaylords majority was still 1980s veterans and retirement for these models was past due. Basically, Kilbourn Park was fastly becoming Jurassic Park. Another death-chime, the residue that was still claiming to be street active was rampant with drug addiction, toxic crusaders. In the end, Gaylords either vanquished from drug use or faded into the mist of securing some betterment in life.
For the 1940s to 2000, Gaylords were combatants in an immigration war on America's very own streets, the last place that the political-monster-machine should have allowed it to manifest and continuously be fed. In this particular war many Americanized youths perished for just simply defending their neighborhoods from foreign-minded gangs that flooded in; like one the last casualties: Bishop from the Sayre Park Gaylords who was gunned down by the Insane Dragons in 1995.
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6 of 11 History Pages
