ABOUT THIS BOOK

This groundbreaking book opens the door on the missing record of South Los Angeles juvenile gangs. It is the result of the unique friendship that developed between John Quicker and Akil Batani-Khalfani, aka Bird, who collaborated to show how structural marginality transformed hang-out street groups of non-White juveniles into gangs, paving the way for the rise of the infamous Crips and Bloods. Before Crips uses a macro historical analysis to sort through political and economic factors to explain the nature of gang creation.

The authors mine a critical archive, using direct interviews with original gang members as well as theory and literature reviews, to contextualize gang life and gang formation. They discuss (and fuss and cuss about) topics ranging from the criminal economy and conceptions of masculinity to racial and gendered politics and views of violence. Their insider/outsider approach not only illuminates gang values and organization, but what they did and why, and how they grew in a backdrop of inequality and police brutality that came to a head with the 1965 Watts Rebellion.

Providing an essential understanding of early South Los Angeles gang life, Before Crips explains what has remained constant, what has changed, and the roots of the violence that continues.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

John C. Quicker is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the California State University Dominguez Hills and the author of Homegirls: Characterizing Chicana Gangs.
Akil S. Batani-Khalfani is a South Los Angeles Street Sage. He is a former Youth Correctional Counselor for California Youth Authority and a former Youth Gang Counselor for the Los Angeles Community Youth Gang Services.

REVIEWS

"A compelling sociological examination of the pre-1970 Los Angeles 'street groups' that improbably spawned the Crips and Bloods.... Gripping urban history."—Kirkus Reviews

"Quicker and Batani-Khalfani offer a penetrating look at the origins of Los Angeles gangs that were active between the 1940s and the 1960s.... VERDICT A sympathetic view of early youth gangs in Los Angeles, before they became known for crime."—Library Journal

"[A]n intriguing take on how the notorious Crips and Bloods gangs emerged from the streets of South Central Los Angeles. The [authors] use a macrohistorical analysis to engage the reader in the political and economic factors related to gang creation and affiliation. Birthed from a segregated city, Before Crips looks at the development of gang life between 1940 and 1970.... The backdrop of inequality and police brutality tells the story of a marginalized group of youth who had no other choice but to bond for protection. This account offers a pivotal review of the early years of gang life in LA and how deindustrialization and urban sprawl created the phenomenon of gang activity.... Summing Up: Recommended."—Choice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Acknowledgments

Map of South Los Angeles in the 1950s

Introduction

Insiders Become Outsiders: Methodology

1. When the South Came West

2. Assemblies of Juveniles

3. The Discovery of Gangs in Los Angeles

4. Street Group Development: A Storied Evolution

5. Slaus Angeles, Villa Fornia 90001: Gang Capital of the World

Photos

6. The Big Three: Social Class, Gender, and Race

7. Comin’-from-the-Shoulders: Ethics, Weapons, Fights, and Violence

8. Malicious Mopery on a Public Highway: Crime and Punishment

9. Unable to Embrace the Ideology: The Rise of the Crips

Appendix: South Los Angeles Sets and Car Clubs before 1965

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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