Philadelphia Black Mafia

There was also the Italian Mafia. They were recognized by the "Black Hand." The "Black Hand" was a letter with a black hand print on it. The letter would simply ask for money. Every Italian knew that if you refused to pay, it would cost you your life. The only way to be immune to the terrifying "Black Hand" was to be a part of the Mafia.

Sociologist and law enforcers believed the gangs were created to protect them from inmates. The gang had their very own rules; they were very strict the

The Black Guerilla Family gang originated in the California prison systems in the 1960s and 30 years later eventually made its way to the prison systems of Maryland and onto the streets of Baltimore City and Howard County. This organization is considered among the most powerful gangs in the state, and has been known for its criminal activities in and outside of correctional facilities. The Black Guerilla Family gang increased its strength through numbers as they heavily recruited during the inflow of criminals as they were being processed into the detention centers and facilities. It was reported that nearly one-third of more than 3,000 identified gang members within the system were affiliated with the Black Guerrilla Family, and they even

The 1960s saw big changes in the development of modern gangs, such as the development of super gangs in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. Super gangs developed from small neighborhood gangs that group together with other gangs near the same neighborhood after they became larger and stronger the gangs began to force the smaller gangs to join their gang organization. In Chicago there where three main African American super gangs the Blackstone Rangers, Disciples, and the Vice Lords, The term gangs makes me think criminals, mugger or even killers not of being involved in programs to better the community. In the summer of 1967 leader of the Vice Lords meant with Western Electric and Sears and Roebuck the outcome of this meeting according to our

The most known African american gangs are the Crips and Bloods. They were “the two most violent and criminally active African American gangs-originated” (Hoover 1). The Crips formed in Los Angeles. Neighborhoods and schools would be assaulted by the Crips. They would also do armed robberies. “They developed a reputation for being the most fierce and feared gang in the Los Angeles area” (Hoover 3). Other gangs were being formed because people felt like they needed to be protected from the Crips. A gang that was formed was the Bloods. This gang was from Compton, California. These two gangs were involved in many crimes such as robbery, assault, and selling drugs. They usually sold “marijuana, phencyclidine, and lysergic acid diethylamide” (Hoover

We may not see this group but the mafia was big back in the day. The mafia was the leading group in criminal activity in the 1960’s(Darity). The mafia was a group that would make tons and tons of money off of drugs, robberies and murders. They would sometimes pay off cops to look the other way and if they didn’t get what they wanted they would use their firearms. With stronger and more enforced laws, many lives could have been saved.

These gangs came in from European countries through Ellis Island. They stayed in New York until they had enough money to move and then went to different booming cities across the United States. One of these gangs was a group of Jewish immigrants who realized that with the enhanced technology in Detroit and the booming industry that it would be a perfect place for a gang. This gang was the “Purple Gang”. Many gangs like the “Purple Gang” were just a group of immigrants who were all the same race who wanted to make money (the easy way). Most gangs were all related to each other or they new someone in the business. The had no education, didn't know how to speak English and still made violence and havoc among booming cities. But unlike the “Purple Gang” and other foreign “gangsters” there were people like Al Capone. Al Capone was an American born Roman Catholic who realized during the Prohibition Era with the rise of gang violence that he could control the whole industry. He became a co-founder of the Chicago Mafia and became known as “Public Enemy Number 1”. He truly started and was the head of gang violence throughout the country. He would kill people, people would

Harlem endured greater levels of poverty, illness, overcrowding and crime compared to other city neighborhoods in 1930. The Harlem gangs formed out of social unrest and racial inequality and were involved in gambling especially the numbers game or the policy and also in prostitution, robbery and drugs. During this era there was neglect concerning African-American organized crime as only criminal syndicates such as La Cosa Nostra

The mafia started moving around the U.S. and started bringing chaos amongst the cities. The first mafia incident happened in New Orleans which got attention both national and international. “On October 25, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. It is still unclear whether Italian immigrants actually killed him or whether it was a frame-up against the feated and hated underclass immigrants by racists. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested on mostly baseless charges, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. The outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants.

The American Mafia in Chicago is different from the American Mafia in New York in that the Outfit has continuously been a compliant venture with other groups and there is a lack of independent entrepreneurs. The Outfit is an Italian-American crime organization. The Outfit has habitually been structured on the origin of separate street crews connected with particular geographic areas. Each Outfit crew is composed of made guys and associates who are said to be “connected.” The street boss and his lieutenants, if they are of Italian heritage, are made guys. Everyone else linked to the crew is an associate. Also, in Chicago, made guys hold supervisory status. For the most part, each street crew, acts freely of the other crews and each street boss,

Early 1900s and in to late 1930s a new group of people emerged that heavily influenced popular culture in America. It was time period where mobsters and organized crime was at its peak in the United States. These gangs were highly organized and committed numerous crimes especially during the prohibition laws, making them some of the most notorious gangsters in American history. These mobsters where feared across cities due to their audacity to enforce their power and do whatever it took to establish their authority. These mobsters would defy the law, at times even buying judges, cops, and even union delegates. The amount of money these individuals pushed was enough to have a whole city beneath their feet. These men where feared all around city, but

La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film “The Godfather” when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a

In Chicago during the 1920’s the development of gangs branched off from “social ethnic clubs,” or SACs. These were groups started by politicians to provide young men with “recreation” (Hadergon 196). They were a way to keep Irish, Polish and other ethnic young men out of the streets and provide them with jobs. Sutherland stated this is in 1924, “At the present time a good many gangs are flourishing under the leadership and protection of politicians.” (Hadergon

Imagine living in a world where crime ruled. A world where gangsters were more powerful than politicians, owned the police, and ran the city in whatever way they felt. They robbed whom they wanted and killed when they didn't get their way. Now stop imagining and realize that this happened here in the United States of America in the 1920's. It was run by an organization made up mainly of Italians called the Mafia.

During this period the rise of urban gang rule and mobsters was unprecedented, mainly emerging from minority immigrant groups (Jewish/Italian/Irish). Initially the gangsters of the period were seen as high achievers as they were associated with the proletariat and seemed to be capable of rising above there roots, even during hard times in America, and achieve wealth. When considering the socio-economic factors it is easy to understand why such men were considered as "gangster-heroes"[3] who represented the people, however the only way that gangsters could achieve this wealth, subsequently fulfilling the American Dream, was by stealing it. " Accruing capital meant accruing power over others"[4].