NCJ Number
147647
Journal
Atlantic Volume: 223 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1966) Pages: 74-83
Date Published
1966
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This is the first of a two-part study of the Ranger Nation (Blackstone Rangers), a coalition of African-American street gangs in Chicago's south side ghetto.
Abstract
Data were obtained from 6 months of research and interviewing. Sometime between 1961 and 1963, an unknown number of African-American young men who lived in the general area of 66th Place and Blackstone Avenue in the Woodlawn area of Chicago organized a street gang. It was formed to protect its members from intimidation by other gangs in the area, notably the Devil's Disciples. By 1965 there were 200 Blackstone Rangers, and they began to depart from the loose structure of typical street gangs to organize for influence in the community. The Rangers' influence in Woodlawn motivated minor, less influential gangs to join them in a confederation known as the Ranger Nation. Each individual gang maintains its own organizational structure with its own officers. The Ranger Nation is headed by a group called the Main 21. Since the formation of the Ranger Nation, individual members have been charged with various crimes including murder, rape, robbery, and assaults. On the other hand, the Ranger Nation has been credited with keeping the south side peaceful in the period following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some sources claim the Ranger Nation has kept drugs, alcoholics, prostitutes, and whites hunting for prostitutes out of their neighborhoods. Based on the Rangers' reputation as a positive community force, they were influential in the Woodlawn Organization, a grass roots community association. This article discusses the details of a $957,000 grant from the Office of Economic Opportunity to the Woodlawn Organization to establish a youth project. The article details how the money was used, the impact of the program, and the debate over how the Rangers performed under the project. Much of the discussion centers on police-Ranger relations and the role of the police Gang Intelligence Unit in the Woodlawn area.