The Bloods are a primarily

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

street

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

founded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the

Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...

. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular

gang symbol A gang signal, also known as a gang sign, is a verbal or visual way gang members identify their affiliation. This can take many forms including slogans, hand signs, colored clothing and graffiti. The wearer usually favors, or is in, that part ...

s, including distinctive hand signs. The Bloods comprise various subgroups known as "sets", among which significant differences exist, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since the gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States.

History

The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the

in Los Angeles. The rivalry originated in the late 1960s when

Raymond Washington Raymond Lee Washington (August 14, 1953 – August 9, 1979) was an American gangster, known as the founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles. Washington formed the Crips as a minor street gang in the late 1960s in South Los Angeles, becoming a pr ...

and other Crips attacked Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, two students at Centennial High School in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. As a result, Scott formed the Piru street-gang, the first "Bloods" gang. Owens subsequently established the West Piru gang. The Bloods was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. Many of the non-Crip gangs used to call one another "blood". On March 21, 1972, shortly after a concert featuring

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

, 20 youths belonging to the Crips attacked and robbed Robert Ballou Jr. outside the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

. Ballou was beaten to death after refusing to give up his leather jacket. The sensational media coverage of the crime and the continued assaults by the Crips increased their notoriety. Several non-Crips gangs formed during this period were no match for the Crips and became concerned with the escalating Crip attacks. The

Pirus The Pirus are an African-American street gang alliance founded in 1969 and based in Southern California. The Pirus comprise various sub-groups, known as "sets". These distinguish themselves by colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas ...

, Black P. Stones, Athens Park Boys and other gangs not aligned with the Crips often clashed with them. On June 5, 1972, three months after Ballou's murder, Fredrick "Lil Country" Garret was murdered by a Westside Crip. This marked the first Crips murder against another gang member and motivated non-Crip gangs to align with each other. The Brims struck back on August 4, 1972, by murdering Thomas Ellis, an original Westside Crip. By late 1972, the Pirus held a meeting in their neighborhood to discuss growing Crip pressure and intimidation. Several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips joined the Pirus to create a new federation of non-Crips neighborhoods. This alliance became the Bloods. The Pirus are therefore considered the founders of the Bloods. By 1978, there were 15 Blood sets. Crips still outnumbered Bloods 3 to 1. To assert their power, the Bloods became increasingly violent. During the 1980s, Bloods began distributing

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

in Los Angeles. Blood membership soon rose dramatically as did the number of states in which they were present. These increases were primarily driven by profits from crack cocaine distribution. The huge profits allowed members to relocate to other cities and states.

United Blood Nation

"Bloods" is a universal term used to refer to West Coast Bloods and

United Blood Nation The United Blood Nation, also known as the East Coast Bloods, is a street and prison gang active primarily in the New York metropolitan area. It is the east coast faction of the California-based Bloods street gang.Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

's George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC) to form protection from the Latin Kings and

Ñetas The NETA Association (Asociación Pro-Derechos del Confinado, "Association for Prisoners' Rights", Asociación NETA, or simply NETA) is the name of a gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States mainland. Altho ...

who were targeting African-American gang members. UBN is a loose confederation of predominantly African-American street gangs. Once released from prison, UBN leaders went back to their New York neighborhoods, where they retained the Bloods name and started recruiting members. UBN has between 7,000 and 15,000 members in the Eastern US. It makes its income through various criminal activities, including distribution of crack cocaine and smuggling drugs into prison.

Membership

Bloods are a loosely structured association of smaller street gangs, known as "sets", that have a common gang culture. Each set has its own leader and generally operates independently from the others. Most Bloods members are African-American males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds. Members range in age from early teens to mid-20s, but some hold leadership positions into their late twenties and occasionally thirties. There is no known national leader of the Bloods but individual Blood sets have a hierarchical leadership structure with identifiable levels of membership. These levels of membership indicate status within a gang. A leader, typically an older member with a more extensive criminal background, runs each set. A set leader is not elected but rather asserts himself by developing and managing the gang's criminal enterprises through his reputation for violence and ruthlessness and his charisma. The majority of set members are called "soldiers", who are typically 16 to 22. Soldiers have a strong sense of commitment to their set and are extremely dangerous because of their willingness to use violence both to obtain the respect of gang members and to respond to any person who "disrespects" the set. "Associates" are not full members, but identify with the gang and take part in various criminal activities. To the extent that women belong to the gang, they are usually associates and tend to be used by their male counterparts to carry weapons, hold drugs, or prostitute themselves to make money for their set. Recruitment is often influenced by a recruit's environment. Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in poor African-American communities. Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection. It also offers immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth who desire the trappings of gang life, such as gold jewelry, cash, and expensive sports clothing. Blood sets have a loose structure of ranks based on how long a person has been involved with a particular set. The ranks do not signify leadership or dominance over the set; they merely signify respect for those who have been in the set longer and have survived the longest. Those with a higher rank do not have a position of authority over those of lower rank. Bloods members commonly call themselves CKs (for Crip-Killer), MOBs (Member of Bloods), dawgs, or ballers (meaning drug dealers). The gang has a membership of between approximately 15,000 and 20,000 active in 123 cities and in 33 U.S. states, primarily on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

and, to a lesser extent, the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

and the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. Gangs including Bloods have been documented in the U.S. military, in both U.S. and overseas bases. Blood sets also operate in the Canadian cities of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

.The Dixon Road Bloods are back: Six alleged gang members arrested in connection to murder
Natalie Alcoba, ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' (April 2, 2015)

Identification

Bloods members identify themselves through various indicators, such as colors, clothing, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, graffiti, language, and hand signs. The Bloods' gang color is red. They like to wear sports clothing, including jackets that show their gang color. The most commonly used Bloods symbols include the number "5", the five-pointed star, and the five-pointed crown. These symbols are meant to show the Bloods' affiliation with the

People Nation People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals of the Folk Nation alliance of gangs. Formation The People Nation was formed in reaction to the creation of the Folk Nation alliance of gang ...

, a large coalition of affiliates created to protect alliance members in federal and state prison. These symbols may be seen in the tattoos, jewelry, and clothing gang members wear as well as the

gang graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

with which Bloods mark their territory. Such graffiti can include gang names, nicknames, declaration of loyalty, threats against rival gangs, or descriptions of criminal acts in which the gang has been involved. Bloods graffiti can include rival gang symbols (especially those of the Crips) drawn upside down. This is meant as an insult to the rival group and its symbols. Bloods members also have a distinctive slang. They greet each other using the word "Blood" and often avoid using words with the letter "C". Bloods use hand signs to communicate with one another. Hand signs may be a singular movement, like the

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

letter "B", or a series of movements using one or both hands for more complex phrases. United Blood Nation (UBN) or East Coast Bloods initiates often receive a dog paw mark, represented by three dots often burned with a cigarette, on their right shoulder. Other UBN symbols include a bulldog and a bull.

Sets

The Bloods gang is a network of individual chapters, which are known as "sets". These sets are often loosely connected, having their own leader(s) and operating independently from one another. * Black P. Stones Jungles * Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods *

United Blood Nation The United Blood Nation, also known as the East Coast Bloods, is a street and prison gang active primarily in the New York metropolitan area. It is the east coast faction of the California-based Bloods street gang.Nine Trey Gangsters The Nine Trey Gangster Bloods or Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods (NTG) (also referred to as Bentley's or Billionaires) are a violent set of the United Blood Nation street gang, which is itself a set of the Bloods gang. The gang operates on the East Coas ...

Sex Money Murda Sex Money Murder (also known as Sex Money Murda, S.M.M. or $.M.M.) is a Blood street gang operating on the East Coast of the United States. It was formed in the Soundview section of The Bronx in the Soundview Houses, a NYCHA development. It is ...

References

External links

PBS Independent Lens program on South Los Angeles gangs
{{Rampart Scandal Organizations established in 1972 1972 establishments in California African-American gangs Street gangs Gangs in Los Angeles African-American history in Los Angeles South Los Angeles de:Bloods und Crips