Almighty Vice Lord Nation

Vice Lords

Founding location	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Years active	1957-present
Territory	Nationwide
Ethnicity	Multicultural
Membership (est.)	around 10,000-25,000
Criminal activities	Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder, mortgage fraud, credit card fraud, money laundering
Allies	Latin Kings, People Nation
Rivals	Crips, MLDS, Gangster Disciples, Folk Nation

The Almighty Vice Lord Nation (abbreviated AVLN, VLN or CVLN) is the second largest gang and one of the oldest gangs in Chicago. Their total membership is according to Washington research 60,000 to 65,000 . They are also one of the founding members of the People Nation multi-gang alliance.

Origin and growth

In 1958, the Vice Lords "club" was founded by several African-American youths originally from the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. These youths met while incarcerated in the Illinois State Training School for Boys in St. Charles (also known as the St. Charles Juvenile Correctional Facility). At the time, they were led by founding member Edward "Pepalo" Perry. The name is taken from the dictionary definition of "vice", meaning "to have a tight hold".

As the original Vice Lords group were released from incarceration, they quickly began to recruit other African-American youths from their neighborhood and began engaging in conflicts with other "clubs" from various Chicago neighborhoods. By 1964, they had grown significantly and law enforcement named them as a primary target for their various illegal activities, including robbery, theft, assaults, battery, intimidation, and extortion. They were noted for their violent behavior and were feared throughout the Lawndale neighborhood.

CVL, Inc.

In an attempt at softening their public image, the Vice Lord leaders changed the gang's name to "Conservative Vice Lords", which today serves as the foundation of the entire Vice Lord Nation. They developed new logos and advertised themselves as a community outreach group. They went as far as to petition for a community outreach chapter named "Conservative Vice Lord Incorporated". This attempt was successful enough that the group began to receive a large amount of positive publicity from various politicians and community leaders. CVL, Inc. established a number of recreational areas for neighborhood children which were then used as meeting houses after they had closed for the day.

In 1970, three Vice Lord leaders, David Dawley, Alfonso Alfred and Bobby Gore, applied for a $275,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation approved the grant. At the same time, the gang was successfully consolidating smaller neighborhood gangs (including the Cherokees, the Morphines, the Commanches, the Continental Pimps, the Imperial Chaplains, the Clovers, the Cobras, and the Braves) into the Vice Lord Nation. As a result, their numbers swelled significantly. In spite of the positive press, it was soon clear that the Vice Lords were still violent criminals as narcotics were introduced to the Lawndale neighborhood, along with a rapid increase in crimes involving intimidation, extortion, and murders of business owners who refused to pay protection money.. It has however been assumed that CVL, Inc. was undermined by gang members who didn't like the idea of the gang reforming. The Chicago police also never fully supported the organization to begin with. Even legitimate community organizations had a hard time getting the police to work with them. Many critics say this put a deeper wedge within the community and law enforcement, which in turn exacerbated the gang problem even to this day.

1980s and beyond

After public pressure, a federal investigation into CVL, Inc.'s use of the Rockefeller grant money was conducted and as a result, several leaders were arrested and sent to prison. By the early 1980s, Perry and Alfred were dead and Gore was in prison for murder.Terrell Adams and The younger Vice Lord leadership attempted to conceal the gang's true intentions with another camouflage campaign, this time by adopting Islamic ideologies. By the mid 1990s, they had created a large document called Lords of Islam which addressed new rules for the gang. Their headquarters, located near Pulaski and 16th Street, is referred to as the "Holy City".

In the 1990s, the Vice Lords, while engaging in the usual activities, became much more sophisticated and expanded into mortgage fraud, credit card fraud, and money laundering.

Subgroups

In addition to their presence in Chicago, the Vice Lords also have a large presence in other cities throughout the United States and Canada. These include Detroit, Michigan; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Toronto, Ontario; Charlotte, North Carolina; Cleveland, Ohio; Little Rock, Arkansas; Knightdale, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Memphis, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Gary, Indiana; Jackson and Gulfport, Mississippi, and Minneapolis, Minnesota; Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts, and Olathe, Kansas.

Along with the group "Conservative Vice Lords," a number of factions and sub-gangs exist. These include the Cicero Insane Vice Lords, Imperial Insane Vice Lords, Insane Vice Lords, Spanish Vice Lords, Renegade Vice Lords, Traveler Vice Lords, Undertaker Vice Lords, Unknown Vice Lords, Four Corner Hustlers (and Facions-Angelo fours, Bodysnatcher Angelo, Sniper fours), Purple Hearted Vice Lords, and Untouchable Vice Lords.

Symbols and emblems

Vice Lord street gangs use a variety of gang graffiti symbols or emblems, to identify themselves and their gang 'turf' including:

• A hat cocked to the left side.
• Martini glass
• A glove
• Top hat
• Cane
• 5-Point Star
• Saracen Symbols of The Legendary Arabian Anti-Crusaders king neal
• Five-points of the golden star
• Crescent moon (Teutonic)
• Scimitar
• Broken heart with wings - the heart with wings is a symbol of the Maniac Latin Disciples, breaking it is a sign of disrespect
• Like the Black P. Stones, the Vice Lords often utilize pseudo-Islamic ideology and symbolism in their gang motif
• Pyramid with an eye above it.
• Five point crown

Each faction of the Vice Lords has their own 'Chief'elite and over seers. However, high-ranking members that hold the title of 'Universal Elite' are given respect by all Vice Lord factions. They are usually called "Lord Almighty".