Black Spades
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The Black Spades was one of the largest and most violent Black street gangs in New York City during the 1970s. During its heyday, it reportedly had 29 chapters in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn[citation needed].
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[edit] Origins
The Black Spades arose out of the Savage Seven because of the increasing number of members.
| “ | In the year '68 seven teenagers who named themselves the 'Savage Seven' started to terrorize their neighbourhood and with their activities they laid the groundwork for something that domineered the Bronx during the next 6 years: Streetgangs. Within shortest time gangs appeared on every street corner and names like 'Black Spades,' 'Savage Skulls,' 'Seven Immortals,' 'Seven Crowns,' 'Savage Nomads,' 'Ching Aling,' 'Black Skulls,' 'Latin Kings,' 'Young Lords,' 'Ghetto Brothers' and many others could be seen everywhere. [1] | ” |
In the 1970s the various gangs had their own music. They walked ("bopped") around with a box radio blasting their favorite hits. For example, the 25th Division of the Black Spades (East 184th Street and Marion Avenue, in the Bronx) had "Fire" by the Ohio Players as their tune. The Black Spades used "Jungle Boogie." Every gang or crew in the 1970s had a song or musical group that they listened to as their "theme song."[citation needed]
The Black Spades were also participants in the Hoe Avenue peace meeting.
[edit] Decline of gangs and the rise of Hip Hop culture
New York street gang activity peaked in 1973, and then began to decline. Reasons for this decline included violence with other gangs, drug use, and members leaving simply because the gangs got too big.[1]
Times were also changing, and block dance parties and clubs were becoming more popular. The beginnings of Hip hop culture began to form in these dance venues, and as gang members and former gang members started getting involved in more Hip Hop activities, involvement in the gangs declined.[1]
Kool DJ Herc, an early Hip Hop music pioneer, credits gangs like the Black Spades with getting the Hip Hop scene started.
| “ | "It started coming together as far as the gangs terrorizing a lot of known discoteques back in the days. I had respect from some of the gang members because they used to go to school with me. There were the Savage Skulls, Glory Stompers, Blue Diamonds, Black Cats and Black Spades. [2] | ” |
Now the Black Spades have moved to Lorton, VA and they seem to have some sort of tie in with folk nation. It was an initiation into a new gang, the Black Spade Organization, and it took place in a boys' bathroom in March at a Fairfax County, VA secondary school, according to court documents. While two students beat on the recruit, a third timed it for 12 seconds.
The incident, at South County Secondary School, touched off a month-long Fairfax police investigation and led to the arrests of four students, ages 14, 15, and 17, police said yesterday. They were each charged with gang participation and recruitment. The three youngest also were charged with hazing, and the oldest faces a destruction of property charge. No students were injured.
Detective Jason C. Herbert was called to the school last month to investigate the March 21 gang initiation, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed yesterday in Fairfax Circuit Court.
The Black Spade Organization, known as the Spades, is affiliated with the nationally known Folk Nation gang, according to court documents. Police officials said they think this is the first time the Spades have existed in Fairfax.
The affidavit provided a glimpse into the workings of the new gang. Herbert said students told him that an initiation, or "jump in", lasts 12 seconds and involves "body shots only, no heads shots." They said the lowest-ranking members, or "baby spades", must commit crimes to prove their allegiance to the gang. The crimes can include vandalism, robbery and assault.
The incident at the school, which opened in 2005 on the site of the former D.C. prison in Lorton, marks the second time this spring that police have arrested Fairfax students in connection with gang initiations on campus.
In March, a teacher broke up a gang initiation in a bathroom at Hayfield Secondary School in Kingstowne, VA. Police said they later learned that seven other teenagers had voluntarily been initiated into the gang. Four students were charged with gang recruiting on school grounds and gang participation.
Police spokesman Eddy Azcarate, a former gang investigator, said that there are 2,000 to 3,000 gang members in the county, mostly ages 12 to 24, and that the number constantly changes. Each county high school has a full-time police officer who helps watch for signs of gang activity. "Schools take this very seriously", schools spokesman Paul Regnier said. "We know that there are gangs in the community. Unfortunately in this case, it did get into the school, but the administration and the police managed to get a handle on it relatively early."
Regnier said officials at South County, which has about 3,000 students in grades 7 to 12, have hosted workshops to help parents recognize signs that might indicate gang activity, such as the use of hand signs or wearing a particular style of clothing. The school is planning another workshop this summer.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Additional sources
- NYC Gang History Yahoo! Group (See the photo album called "Colors" in this Yahoo! group. NOTE: photo album available to group members only.)
- Campus, Michael (Director, 1974) The Education of Sonny Carson (Motion picture, 104 mins.) NOTE: Film was based on Sonny Carson's autobiography, The Education of Sonny Carson. Facts should be checked to make sure they weren't changed from the book to the film adaptation, and reference them instead.
[http://hometown.aol.com/nystreetgangs/ny-street-gangs.html NY STREET GANGS FROM THE LATE 60s-80s]
