Bloods

This article is about the Los Angeles gang. For blood tests (often abbreviated to "bloods" amongst health professionals), see blood test.

For other uses, see blood (disambiguation).

Bloods

Founded	Summer of 1972
Founding location	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active	1972-present
Territory	Nationwide
Ethnicity	Mostly African American
Membership (est.)	About 30,000
Criminal activities	murder, Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion,
Rivals	Crips

The Bloods is one of the street gangs originally founded in Los Angeles. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and their gang symbol. The Bloods are made up of various sub-groups known as "Sets" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing, and operations. Since their formation the Blood gangs have branched out throughout the United States, with over 15,000 members or more nationwide. Bloods have been documented in the US military, found in both US and overseas bases. Historically, they have strongholds in Los Angeles, California, San Diego, Houston, New York City, Detroit, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

History

In 1971, a Crip set on Piru Street, and the gang that came to be Compton known as the Piru Street Boys was formed. After two years of peace, a feud began between the Piru Street Boys and the other Crip sets. It would later turn violent as gang warfare ensued between former allies. This battle continued until the mid 1970s when the Piru Street Boys wanted to call an end to the violence and called a meeting with other gangs that were targeted by the Crips. After a long discussion, the Pirus broke off all connections to the Crips and started an organization that would later be called the Bloods, a street gang infamous for its rivalry with the Crips.

Clothing

Bloods are generally identified by their tendency to wear red clothing and other attire, but can also wear black, purple, green, or white. Bloods hang a red or black "flag" out of their back right pocket, because Crips wear their bandanas on the left. They also wear Boston Red Sox caps. Additionally, Bloods wear red bandanas around their heads, red shoelaces, or red gloves on their right hands. Red or black beaded necklaces are worn and in some cases can signify rank.

Notes

• The Southern and Eastern Blood "logo" is a five pointed star as part of the People Nation . Their historical rivals, the Crips are part of the Folk Nation and use a six pointed star. Because their star has five points, Blood may sometimes replace the letter "s" with the number 5.
• The Bloods generally refuse to use the letter C in words and names, often appending a K, to form CK, meaning crip killer.

External links

• Listing of Los Angeles based Bloods neighborhoods

See also

• List of California street gangs
• Crips

Further reading

• Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, UPRISING : Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire, ISBN 0-684-80460-3