See a portion of the black book empowering black families and communities. Crossed sabers, machetes, rifles with the letters bgf, 276, a horned dragon. Empowering black families and communities, the 122page softbound publication is a revolutionary call for economic and political liberation for. A gang broke apart, then baltimore homicides spiked war. Black guerrilla family vow revenge against prison officers. An overarching presence in the black guerilla family bgf prisongang conspiracies indicted in april by the u. It also shows ways we might prevent prison violence. The black guerrilla family prison gang gangs police magazine. How a california gang took root in marylands prisons the. The rise of the black guerrilla family in 1974 top. Prison uprising planned for august bgf the denise simon.
One of the biggest, hugo pinell served 46 years in solitary confinement after a san francisco rape conviction, after killing a prison guard, and slashing the throats of two other guards who survived during an escape attempt in 1971. Black august is not a prison gang concept, and it definitely does not entail the promotion of any violence. Even a few prominent individuals in baltimores black. It is based on really existing africanamerican street gang founded in 1966 and founded by the activist george jackson. Several state officials rejected battss view that bgf has not.
As a result, a document simply known as the black book was created and. He vowed to form an organization that would support his imprisoned people like a family and become a vanguard in the coming revolution against the u. Nearly a year to the day after 25 alleged members of the black guerrilla family bgf prison gang were arrested under two federal indictments guerrilla warfare, mobtown beat, apr. A gang broke apart, then baltimore homicides spiked medium. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. Black guerrilla family prison gang profile infotracer.
Cdcrs gang validation process as applied to the black guerrilla family bgf, the only black prison gang that cdcr recognizes. The black guerrilla family prison gang gangs police. How a california gang took root in marylands prisons. This gang has become not only active in california but maryland as well. In the film the gang is described as one of the most dangerous criminal factions in the prison where jimmy rainwood the protagonist of the film was. The book espoused and expounded on the radical political tenets of bgf founder george jackson, a black power proponent who was killed in a california prison incident in the early 1970s. The bgf were allegedly the first california gang, formed in 1966 in san quentin penitentiary by prison revolutionary george jackson, and his black family. When the crowd dispersed from druid hill park on monday, police found copies of the black book and a gun. Bgf was associated with a number of antiestablishment groups. Bgf member talks about being an original crip and raymond washington in tracy dvi duration. George jackson who was killed by a prison gunner in san quentin prison in 1970 is one of the most prominent members of the bgf.
How a california gang took root in marylands prisons new. While the black guerrilla family declined in the 1990s, the gang recently began to rebuild its membership, recruiting black street gangs in the 415 kumi nation, the crips and the bloods. The gang is highly organized with a paramilitary structure, complete with a supreme leader and a central committee. The black guerilla family, or bgf also known as the black family or the black vanguard is an africanamerican prison and street gang founded in 1966 by george jackson, george big jake lewis, and w. Five years ago, next to the chapel in a maryland prison, the black guerrilla family bgf kept its own office with desks, chairs even computers. A gang broke apart, then baltimore homicides spiked. Ap a prisoner slain by fellow white inmates at a california prison was a founder of public enemy number 1, a white supremacist. Inside the history of the black guerrilla family gorilla. Testimony revealed more about how the black guerrilla family gang controlled contraband at the baltimore city jail complex. The history of the black guerrilla family kindle edition. Cdcr state operatives have criminalized the historicalcultural legacy of black august under the false pretense of it being a bgf black guerrilla family prison gang concept that promotes violence against cdcrs state operatives. Nolen while they were incarcerated at san quentin state prison in marin county, california.
The dissemination of the black book throughout baltimore in 2008 helped to spread the bgf. The use of gang when referring to the original bgf founded by george jackson while incarcerated rather than inmate organization, is part of a theme promoted by corrections officials the fact that there may be other groups in prisons across the us who have taken up that name similar to the new black panther party, which is not related to. It shows how the bgf spread into the federal system and marylanddoc. This 2009 book offers a glimpse into the secretive world of the mexican mafia, also. May 14, 2009 if youre interested in reading actual gang propaganda, the black book empowering black families and communities is written by eric marcel brown one of the leaders of the currentlyontrial black guerilla family posted by electroboy at 7. The black guerrilla family bgf formed at a time when the california department of corrections cdc was a hot bed of gang activity. Attorneys office in maryland is not a person, but a book. A bgf member who is cooperating with investigators told them that the book is a ploy to make the group appear legitimate, according to an affidavit filed in support of the charges. Jan 28, 2011 please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. If youre interested in reading actual gang propaganda, the black book empowering black families and communities is written by eric marcel brown one of the leaders of the currentlyontrial black guerilla family posted by electroboy at 7. There was a black power movement going on, the prison reform movement going on and the drug game and street culture were at the beginnings of what it would turn into over the next several decades. Nov 21, 2017 but law enforcers characterize it as a guidebook for gang behavior and say its salesand therefore davenport, as the books publisherhelped underwrite the violent, drugdealing, prisonsmuggling ways of the bgf in maryland see the black book, mobtown beat, may 27, 2009.
How the black guerrilla family gang took root in marylands prisons. Nov 27, 2017 it is a rare kind of criminal trial, and it began monday at the federal courthouse in downtown baltimore. Black guerrilla family criminal justice solutions, ham. Educators endorse black guerrilla family gang leaders book. Bgf is involved in criminal activity, including murder, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness intimidation in baltimore, in maryland, and. Prisoner slain in california was white supremacist leader. The black book condemned drug dealing as genocide and. In his book, shadow of the panther, hugh pearson alleges that newton was addicted to crack cocaine, and his extortion of local bgf drug dealers. According to court documents, the black guerilla family bgf is a nationwide gang operating in prisons and on the streets of cities throughout the united states. Black guerilla family gang members indicted in 2016 triple. Nolen, david johnson, james carr, and other black convicts in the state prison at the time. Advertisement baltimore city paper the black book by by van smith city paper may 27, 2009 12. The former being a radical manifesto and the latter being an outline of the bgf philosophy and how to run factions of the organization. The black guerrilla family also known as the black family or the black vanguard is a prison gang founded in 1966 by george jackson while he was in the san quentin state prison in marin county, california, north of san francisco.
Black guerilla family bgf prison gang history youtube. The bgf, by contrast, at this time were well organized and initially conveyed to the community in perkins that they would be vanguards of the community. Three alleged members of the black guerilla family gang face racketeering charges. The bgf was the most political of all the ca prison gangs and the most dangerous towards police and corrections officers in the late 1960s through the early 1970s. Three black guerilla family gang members convicted in. The black guerrilla family bgf came to be in 1966, the creation of black panther. The bgfs roots started out in the california department of corrections cdc in 1966 as the black family and black vanguard led by george lester jackson and w. The black guerrilla family bgf came to be in 1966, the creation of black panther party member, activist, and author george jackson and fellow inmate w. The black guerilla family, or bgf is an africanamerican prison and street gang founded in. At first, the project was designed as a way to resist and eradicate racism within the san quentin state prison in california while attempting to overthrow the current government. The bgf, also known as the black vanguard, was a prison gang founded in 1966 by george jackson and w. Mar 30, 2017 the dissemination of the black book throughout baltimore in 2008 helped to spread the bgfs black nationalist revolutionary message.
Aug 05, 2016 the black guerrilla family bgf prison gang, which originated in california, has long participated in socalled black august, a month of increased violence to honour fallen members and us. A member of the black guerilla family bgf gang has admitted murdering a witness to stop him testifying against a fellow member of the notorious group in another shooting case. As with last years indictments blackbooked, feature, aug. The black book empowering black families and communities is the unofficial handbook that gave rise to a powerful prison gang at the center of a maryland jailhouse corruption case. Ideologythe former leader of the bgf in maryland, eric brown, published a book called the black book, which was to be used by members to better themselves. Bgf was associated with a number of antiestablishment groups, including the black liberation army, symbionese liberation army, and weather underground. Black guerilla family san francisco bay view black. An overarching presence in the black guerilla family bgf prison gang conspiracies indicted in april by the u.
But law enforcers characterize it as a guidebook for gang behavior and say its salesand therefore davenport, as the books publisherhelped underwrite the violent, drugdealing, prisonsmuggling ways of the bgf in maryland see the black book, mobtown beat, may 27, 2009. The black guerrilla family bgf is a black prison gang founded in 1966 by george jackson a highranking member of the black panther party while he was in the san quentin state prison. Jun 06, 2016 according to court documents, the black guerilla family bgf is a nationwide gang operating in prisons and on the streets of cities throughout the united states. The bgf is paramilitary in structure, adhering to the marxist political ideologies of mao zedong. Black guerrilla family is a predominately africanamerican prison gang that started in the california department of corrections during the 1960s. All the while, according to court documents and interviews, bgf, a prison gang from california, was methodically taking root in maryland, plotting an audacious criminal enterprise controlled. Nov 21, 2017 an overarching presence in the black guerilla family bgf prisongang conspiracies indicted in april by the u. Released in 2008, the book prescribes reforming the bgf from a semicriminal organization to a fully black nationalist separatist movement by indoctrinating. Under the aegis of repressing a gang called the black guerrilla family bgf, the administration carried on a witchhunt against the political thinking of many black prisoners and punished them by solitary confinement.
May 17, 2016 bgf member talks about being an original crip and raymond washington in tracy dvi duration. Empowering black families and communities was a big seller in the baltimore area until the bgf indictments of 2009 shut down his selfpublishing operation. Though brown and his bgf comrades claimed to be engaging potential. The history of the black guerrilla family tracks the evolution of the bgf from george jackson and other early black prisoners until the recent hunger strikes in california. This article, the second in a series of three, looks at the notion of prison gang, its relation to the prisoners need for defense and how that affects us beyond the. The story of rene boxer enriquez and his life in the mexican mafia, by chris blatchford. The black guerrilla family uses two books soledad brother and the black book authored by gang leaders to recruit new members. But prosecutors say the black book was a propaganda tool used for bgf recruitment and that proceeds were used to underwrite the bgf s criminal schemes. The organization had many roots in the black panthers. The dissemination of the black book throughout baltimore in 2008 helped to spread the bgfs black nationalist revolutionary message.
The rise of the black guerrilla family in 1974 top secret. A gang broke apart, then baltimore homicides spiked war is. The black guerrilla family was founded by george jackson, a former black panther and excellent orator who rallied inmates by speaking about the systems injustice to prisoners, especially black inmates. The prison gang black guerilla family or bgf started black august in the 1970s as a month to honor fallen members. Nolen while they were incarcerated at san quentin state prison. May 15, 2015 the black guerrilla family bgf formed at a time when the california department of corrections cdc was a hot bed of gang activity.
The best books on prison gangs i read while serving time. Initial research for this note revealed a glaring void in legal and scholarly writings about the bgf. The black guerrilla family bgf prison gang, founded in 1966 in the san quieten state prison in california. The indictments allege the black guerilla family, a prison and street gang, as well as drugtrafficking activities had links to the triple homicide. The black guerrilla family is a criminal organization that acts as a supporting antagonist in the film an innocent man. It is a rare kind of criminal trial, and it began monday at the federal courthouse in downtown baltimore. Black guerilla family archives san francisco bay view.
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