Founded 1958 | Named after Black Stone Avenue | |
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Territory Chicago and Los Angeles Ethnicity predominantly African American Membership 30,000–42,000, (Nationwide) | ||
Chicago s almighty black p stone nation street gang
The Black P. Stone Nation a.k.a. BPSN is a Chicago-based street gang estimated to have more than 30,000 members. The gang was originally formed in the late 1950s as the Blackstone Rangers. In later years, an Islamic faction of the gang emerged, naming themselves the "El Rukn tribe of the Moorish Science Temple of America" (or simply El Rukn, Arabic for “the foundation”). The group's founder is Jeff Fort.
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Considered by law enforcement authorities to be Chicago's most powerful and sophisticated street gang, the BPSN finances itself through a wide array of criminal activities and is part of the large Chicago gang alliance known as the People Nation. Under Fort's command, the BPSN assumed an increasingly revolutionary outlook as it became associated with the black nationalism movement, eventually attracting the attention of the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who introduced them to Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi and Nicaragua's Sandinistas. In 1986 four of its members were indicted for conspiring to commit terrorist acts in the United States for the Libyan Government. The verdict marked the first time American citizens had been found guilty of planning terrorist acts for a foreign government in return for money.
Territory
The BPSN originated, and is based, on the South Side of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood. As of today, the gang has a growing presence in the Northwest Indiana communities of Gary, Merrillville, Crown Point, and Portage.
History
The Blackstone Rangers were founded at the St. Charles Institution for Troubled Youth by Jeff Fort and Eugene Hairston as a community organization for black youth in the Woodlawn area of South Chicago. Between 1961 and 1963, they evolved into one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in Chicago. Fort seized upon the gang's changed mission, renaming it the Black P.(Peace) Stone Nation. He transformed the BPSN into a black nationalistic group, and continued to involve the gang in street crime and drug trafficking. BPSN co-founder Eugene Hairston was incarcerated on drug charges in June 1966 and was eventually murdered in the early 1980s. Fort was arrested for mismanagement of government grants totaling $927,000 from the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in March 1972. Fort was released in the early 1980s, but was later re-incarcerated on drug charges. At some time in the 1980s, Fort converted to Islam and imbued the BPSN with Islamic overtones. It was then that he adopted the name of Abdullah-Malik and the rank of "caliph".
According to former gang member Lance Williams, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was responsible for introducing Fort to Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. Following meetings during 1986 with Libyan operatives from Colonel Gaddafi's government, Fort was arrested. In 1987, Fort was tried and convicted for conspiring with Libya to perform acts of domestic terrorism. He was sentenced to 80 years imprisonment and transferred to the USP Marion, the federal supermax prison in Marion, Illinois. In 1988, Fort was also convicted of ordering the 1981 murder of a rival gang leader and was sentenced to 75 years in prison to be served after the completion of his terror conspiracy sentence. While Fort continues to exercise considerable influence over the BPS from prison, the various Black Stones splinter groups suffer from rampant infighting without a clear leader. There are two major groups that have split with the BPSN The Mickey Cobras were supporters of Mickey Cogwell, a co-founder of BPSN killed by Jeff Fort. The Titanic Stones were supporters of Eugene Hairston who had a falling-out with Fort.