Black Power is a prominent

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 collective ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

. Members are predominantly Māori and Polynesian.

History

It was formed as the "Black Bulls" by Reitu Harris and Māori youth in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

about 1970, but was changed to ''Black Power'' in 1971. The gang was founded in response to the rival

Mongrel Mob The Mongrel Mob (sometimes self-labelled as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or colloquially known as the Mob) is an organised street gang and Prison gang based in New Zealand. With a network of more than thirty chapters throughout the country and additio ...

gang and

white power White pride and white power are expressions primarily used by white separatist, white nationalist, fascist, neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations in order to signal racist or racialist viewpoints. It is also a slogan used by the prominent ...

associated gangs. The gang then spread to other major centres and rural towns throughout New Zealand. Founder Reitu Harris was very politically aware, and during the early 1980s the gang gained some credibility; with social activist Denis O'Reilly joining, former judge Bill Maung acting as their political advisor and Prime Minister

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in t ...

meeting with them and helping them to find accommodation and form work trusts. The gang is now heavily involved in organised crime, such as drug manufacturing and dealing. While the gang has distanced itself from violent acts of some of its members, for example, a child abuse case, police have in return accused the gang members of using violence as a 'learned behaviour from involvement in the gang'. There were 697 members in prison in April 2013. The Black Power gang also has a strong presence on the Gold Coast of

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in Australia.NZ street gangs are facing an influx of Australian outlaw bikers
Carl Bradley, ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' (7 February 2019)

Insignia

Black Power colours are predominantly blue and black. The patches usually feature a clenched fist which is a symbol of the American Black Power movement. The patch will also be tattooed on the member's body.

References

External links

Images of Black Power gang from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Black Power Gangs in New Zealand Māori gangs Polynesian gangs Polynesian-New Zealand culture {{gang-stub

History

Insignia

See also

References

External links