GANGSTER DISCIPLES
| Gangster Disciples | |
| In | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Larry Hoover |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Territory | Nationwide |
| Ethnicity | mostly African American |
| Membership | Over 60,000 |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder |
| Allies | Folk Nation, Crips |
| Rivals | Peoples Nation, Mexican Mafia, Bloods, United Blood Nation |
The Gangster Disciples began with Larry Hoover who entered and rose through the ranks of the Chicago gang circuit in the 1960s and took control of the gang in 1974 by leading a series of increasingly powerful alliances.[1] He ran the gang from prison until he was transferred to a higher security wing in the 1990s. Hoover was born in Jackson, Mississippi on November 30, 1950. He moved to Chicago with his family in 1955. At the age of 16, Hoover joined a gang of 50 older youths called the Supreme Gangsters. Hoover and his Supreme Gangsters hung around their neighborhood at the corner of 68th and Green Street in impoverished Englewood on the South Side of Chicago. Hoover was kicked out of high school on the first day of his sophomore year in 1965, after being shot in the thigh by a rival gang member.
Gangster Disciples follow a strict code and use symbols and hand signs to communicate alliances and rivalries.
- Six pointed star, similar to the Star of David A reference and homage to David Barksdale formed using fingers on both hands
- Heart with six wings
- Shepard's cane inverted (to show disrespect for Vice Lords)
- A three pointed pitch fork aiming upwards
- An inverted pyramid (Peoples Nation symbol when not inverted)
Any of these can be incorporated into drawings, onto notes, hand signals, into a private alphabet, or displayed in various forms on clothing and private or public property[2]
Gangster Disciples have been documented in the US military, found in both US and overseas bases.[3] Graffiti characteristic of the Gangster Disciples has been reportedly seen in U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. [4]
