Like the Stones, the Disciples at Stateville remain tied to their organization on the outside. In the fall of 1974, David Barksdale, king of the Disciples since its inception in 1961, died (of natural causes). This precipitated a struggle for power inside Stateville.
Dear. S. Everybody feels bad and think this is the end. Don’t no nation crumble because it has lost its king. We have to get a successor and make this the beginning of something new and more powerful. King David got to live thru us all! We can’t let his death be in vain. So everybody must ask themselves those questions that got to be answered here and now! What am “I” going to do?! Am “I” going to be a Disciple until the day “I” die? See I already know what I am going to do because I have made that individual decision that everybody else have to make, as thats I’m going to be a Disciple forever! And I know all of the most righteous ones feel the same way. They will stand tall and these are the only ones we want and need.
The struggle for power does not seem to be totally resolved as of February 1975, but a new king, who is an inmate at Stateville, has been chosen as Barksdale’s successor.
Within the penitentiary there are estimated to be between 150 and 200 Vice Lords. Their administration is very well structured. Responsibility for decision making remains in the hands of BH,28 who before being committed was one of the Vice Lords’ top leaders. Because decision making is vested in one individual, the Vice Lords appear to make decisions with the least difficulty. They are far less involved in “humbug” at the prison than the Stones or Disciples.
The Latin Kings are the largest Latin gang in Chicago. They cannot be identified with any single neighborhood, as their chapters are sprawled across the city. Most of the Kings are Puerto Rican, but there are Mexicans as well. On Chicago’s streets the Kings have also been involved in a number of economic enterprises. The Stateville Latin Kings constitute an autonomous and distinct chapter of the Latin King federation. Inside Stateville the Kings associate almost exclusively with Spanish inmates. Most of the staff members agree that “we never have any problems out of the Kings.” Rarely does a King come before the disciplinary court for a serious rule infraction. Decisions for the Kings are made by a council of ranking chiefs.
Whether an individual has grown up in one of the gangs or has only recently “hooked up” in jail or prison has important consequences for the gang as well as for the individual. Even among those who have a long history of association with their organization there are various degrees of involvement.29 One of the Disciple leaders at Stateville pointed out:
Approximately 15–20 percent of the members are highly committed which means that they would knock down a screw [guard] if I asked them to do it. About 40 percent of the Disciples are least committed. They may have joined because they like the leaders. They cannot really be counted on—in case of trouble they’ll run to lock themselves up in their cells. The others are somewhere in between.
The recruited members correspond for the most part to the least committed. From discussions with leaders and independents, I estimate that between 25 and 50 percent of the Disciples at Stateville have been recruited within the penal institutions.
In contrast with the intense pressures experienced by an unaffiliated convict, the gang member from the street has no difficulty at all adjusting to the new environment. The warden of the Pontiac prison told me: “When a new guy comes up here it’s almost a homecoming—undoubtedly there are people from his neighborhood and people who know him.” The chief of the Disciples claims to have known about seventy-five of the Disciples upon arrival at Stateville. A young leader in the Latin Kings noted that, because of his active participation in the superstructure of the Kings on the street, he knew all but two of the Kings upon arrival. His first afternoon at Stateville he received a letter from the ranking chief of the Latin Kings at Stateville welcoming him to the “family.”
BH, chief of the Vice Lords, explains that when a young Vice Lord is spotted coming into the prison, the leaders will see to it that he is set up right away with coffee, tea, cigarettes, deodorant, and soap. Normally the gang member will have the situation run down for him by his cell-house chief. Consider the following written rules passed out by the Disciples.
There are certain allegations that a Disciple must govern himself by. We as a united coalition must dutily abide by these rules and regulations thus far provided by the omnipotent Prince, or your commandering chief of your designated cell house.
I. Degradation of another Disciple, will not be tolerated at any time.
II. Disrespect of any Governing body of said cell house, will not be permitted.
III. There will not at any time, be any unnecessary commotion while entering the cell house.
IV. Homosexual confrontation toward another Disciple, will definitely not be tolerated.
V. Dues will be paid up on time at any designated schedule.
VI. Fighting another Disciple, without consulting a Governing chief will result in strict disciplining.
VII. Upon greeting another Disciple, proper representation will be ascertained.
VIII. There will never be an act of cowardice displayed by any Disciple, for a Disciple is always strong and brave.
IX. There will not be any cigarettes upon entering the hole for those who relentlessly, obstruct the rules and regulations of the organization, or the institution.
X. Anyone caught perpetrating the above rules and regulations with disorder and dishonesty, will be brought before the committee and dealt with accordingly.
DISCIPLE LOVE:
Govern yourself and walk like a true Disciple, the eyes of the nation are upon you.
The gang in prison serves important economic and psychological functions. To some degree the gang functions as a buffer against poverty. Each organization has a poor box. Each of the six cell-house chiefs in each gang collects cigarettes from his members and stores them for those who are needy. When a member makes a particularly good “score,” he is expected to share some of the bounty with the leaders and donate to the poor box. The following notice was circulated to members of the Black P Stone Nation.
CITIZENS OF THE ALMIGHTY B.P.S.N. ATTENTION: F-House For the past month, no Stone has placed anything into the Nation’s box (which is for every Stone in need). At present the Box contains twenty-five (25) packs, and none of this comes from any Stone in the Cell House. There have been many Stone’s receiving but None have given. “THE EMIR” plainly stated that the Stone’s Box was necessary (Mandatory). So therefore it must be kept up, at all time’s. As of the above date, all Stone’s must pay two packs weekly. There is no reason for any Committee Member to come to you, when you know it’s due. “Eusi Outlaw,” and JM, are in charge of the box so you can give them to either. Records will be kept of everything coming in, or going out, and everyone shall be kept informed on the progress of all thing’s coming in.
This observer has often seen the leaders giving away cigarettes and other items. When a gang member is placed in isolation, he can expect to have food and cigarettes passed to him. While this welfare system may be more recognizable in its breach, at least some degree of material security is provided for those members who are without resources. This is especially true for members of the Vice Lords and Latin Kings. The Vice Lords sometimes provide correspondents and visitors for those gang members deserted by their families.
The gangs function as a communication network,30 serving to keep “their people” informed and placing a coherent definition of the situation on new policies and events. Inmate leaders often knew I was in the institution with a visitor upon our arrival. By means of “soldiers” assigned to jobs up front and as runners, yard gang workers, and cell house helpers, information and messages flow from front to back with great precision.31
There are several other functions which the gangs perform for their members. They provide a convenient distributional network for contraband goods. One Latin King informant explained that where an independent might be hesitant to ma
ke a large score because he might be caught with too much stuff, an organization member knows that within a number of minutes he can divest himself of the major share of the contraband.
The role of the gangs in organizing illicit activities is unclear. They have not in the past had a unified plan for organizing illicit enterprises, but individual members were active singly and in groups in supplying liquor, marijuana, nutmeg, and heroin, as well as in shaking down (robbing) independents. One reliable informant estimates that 75 percent of the “off brands” pay off to gang members. Recently the gangs have become more sophisticated in organizing the narcotics trade inside Stateville, and rivalry between Stones and Disciples for control is intense. The following Disciple memorandum was recently confiscated by guards.
STRUGGLE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
In order to be what we profess to be we must begin to utilize some of the same principles here (Penitentiary) that we will use in the fields (streets).
We must produce revenue in order to fuse our people together. We need revenue, and most important, activities in which to school and keep our people busy. Using the Concept that what we do today will help to strengthen us tomorrow.
(1) Playing for Position: This principle consist of putting our people into different positions, so we can begin to control some of the activities (Kitchen, General Store, Commissary, Voc. School, Tailor Shop, etc.).
If we have some of our people in these different shops, their prime objective should be to move into position so they can be of some use to the organization. In each of the shops there are goods that can be sold or exchanged, our job is to set-up the correct technique.
(2) Another Principle is the establishment of revenue making projects (Parlay Tickets, Pornography, Alcohol, Gambling, Marijuana/Pills, Numbers Game, etc.).
ANALYZATION
In any activity in which we choose to get involved with, we will need the necessary revenue:
(1) In establishing ourselves in the Alcohol/Marijuana/Pill trade we need—money, connection, buyers/sellers.
MONEY
Money is no problem if we have a pay job, or receive money from home on a regular basis; these monies are good for some of the activities in which we want to get involved in. What we need besides these monies is some people in the fields (streets) who would be willing to invest either the necessary monies or materials, until we can become self-supporting. On second thought, even the money that we have here can be mailed to an individual in the field so we can get the necessary materials.
CONNECTION
We will have to make arrangements with those people in the fields who are willing to buy, and transport the materials in which we need to conduct business. This should not be as hard as it may seem, we can utilize a guard working here or establish someone (our people) as a guard, or we will have to get help from the people in the fields.
BUYERS/SELLERS
Buyers and sellers is not a problem, we have plenty of both. Our problem will come in at the selling of the merchandise such as Marijuana/Pills, Pornography, and Alcohol, we have to receive as much cash as possible, in order to keep our business activities going. The cash do not necessarily have to be paid to us, but to some certain individual in the field. There are a couple of ways that this can be done. The buyer can mail the money from the institution, or he can have one of his people pay the debt.
By far the most important function the gangs provide their members at Stateville is psychological support.32 GL, prison leader of the Disciples, explained, “These guys in my branch [of the Disciples] are closer to me than my own family. Anything I do around them is accepted—for stuff that my parents would put me down for, these guys elevate me to a pedestal.” Every inmate informant expressed this opinion—that the organizations give to the members a sense of identification, a feeling of belonging, an air of importance. According to the chief of the Vice Lords, “It’s just like a religion. Once a Lord always a Lord. People would die for it. Perhaps this comes from lack of a father figure or lack of guidance or from having seen your father beaten up or cowering from police. We never had anything to identify with. Even the old cons like me—they are looking for me to give them something they have been looking for for a long time.”
Time and again gang members explained that, whether on the street or in the prison, the gang “allows you to feel like a man”; it is a family with which you can identify. Many times young members have soberly stated that the organization is something, the only thing, they would die for.
Members “represent” to each other by esoteric salutes and verbal greetings. The Disciples, for example, cross their arms hitting their fists against the chest, while the Stones offer a black power salute accompanied by “Stone love” or “Stone thing.” Each organization has its own colors and insignias, often boldly flaunted on prison T-shirts and sweat shirts. The Latin King’s insignia is a crown; the Stones’ is an inverted pyramid.
All of the gangs are confluent with the justificatory vocabulary of protest. Leaders regularly maintain that they are “political prisoners,” under the slogans of racial oppression, black nationalism, and revolution. The gangs demonstrate a rudimentary solidarity opposed to white society, white administration and white inmates. The explanation for this solidarity is not explained by formal organizational goals or by prison deprivations but by the political climate on the streets of the ghetto. Writing from his segregation cell at the Special Program Unit, a Stones’ leader announced to the administration a new relationship between “gang bangers” and prison authorities.
I, Prince Namore, speaking as a representative of the Black P Stone Nation, would like to clarify important facets that have been overlooked in regards to the way citizens of the Nation have been classified as potential security risks and confined within S.P.U. First I would like to acquaint you with the philosophy of our nation. We have been branded with the stigma of being a “Chicago street gang.” This allegation stems from the days when we were not fully aware of our potential of being a meaningful structure in our community. Our realization of this brought about a vast reconstruction of our views and aims, and we began to strive for the uplifting and refinement of our community.
Similar politicized vocabulary runs throughout recent underground Disciple literature circulated throughout Stateville.
The Oppressor (The power elite—the few people that rule most of the world) wants the oppressed (the minorities and poor whites who haven’t and want to be given the opportunity to join their ranks) to remain ignorant, to prey on each other for monetary gain and for other obsolete reasons. They know that it is less easy to manipulate a mature man—a thinking man.
Since we have been incarcerated, we have been forced to think and as on the street (in the so-called civilized world) a large number of penal colony inhabitants have regressed. They had rather remain in childhood stage but as I have stated, it is against nature and therefore impossible.
We gradually become aware of various things quicker than a great number of people on the other side of these walls, mainly because we are not subjected to various forms of pacification, as they are. There is very little within the Penal Colony to divert our oppressors and their agents. We are compelled to see them as they are—our enemies—enemies of the people!!!
I am a very sad man. . . . I cannot begin to be happy until we, the oppressed—unite! I will be extremely pleased only when our oppressors heads are attached to their “flagpoles”! It wouldn’t gratify me to take from someone who had little more than I. People who do that are agents whether they realize it or not. Just as anyone who deals or peddles dope to the oppressed. I couldn’t get any pleasure wearing expensive clothes, etc., etc., and at the same time be fully aware that I acquired all those things as a result of helping the oppressor make my people sleeping giants!!!!!!!
Black consciousness and the political ramifications of incarceration have become salient issues. In contributing to the transformation of a group of inmates in itself to a group for itself, the gang
s can be said to have contributed to the politicization of the prison. One articulate white inmate has summed up the situation as follows:
It is quite understandable that the polarity between the administration and the major force of inmates is increasing daily, despite the fact that the administration is attempting to allow the maximum amount of individuality and human expression by the inmates within the limits of their confinement. Although the benefits to the inmate are increasing daily, they are becoming increasingly more resistent and unresponsive to the enticement of the administration. Clear and simply, emerges the fact that the new inmates, especially the militant blacks, are no longer interested in the reform policies of the administration, because they symbolize the White Society that is oppressing them on the streets of Chicago. Prison reform is no different than ADC or Urban Renewal, to the cynical blacks who have been bombarded with promises since the moment they became aware of their environment as children.33
Stateville- the Penitentiary in Mass Society Page 19
