Almighty Black P. Stone Nation

The Black P. Stone Nation aka 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). The group's founder is Jeff Fort.^[2] 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.^[3]

Territory

The BPSN originated, and is based, on the South Side of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood.^[4] As of today, the gang has a strong presence in the Northwest Indiana communities of Gary and Merrillville with a growing presence in Portage, the northern area of Crown Point, as well as the western area of Hobart.

Intergang relations

Their main rivals are the Gangster Disciples (GD). Rivals include the entire Folk Nation. Their allies include People Nation gangs. BPSN has branched out to many different parts of the US, especially in the Midwest and the South.

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.^[5] Fort seized upon the gang's changed mission, renaming it the Black P. (Pyramid) 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".^[6]

Following meetings during 1986 with Libyan operatives from Colonel Muammar al-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.^[7][8][9] 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.^[10][11] 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.

Media

• The FBI investigation into Jeff Fort and his El Rukns gang for terrorism was featured in an episode of The FBI Files entitled "Terror For Sale", such as the gang's purchase of a LAW Rocket (actually a dummy rocket) from an undercover agent posing as an arms dealer.
• Malik Yusef, the spoken word artist, poet, musician, film producer and actor based in Chicago, Illinois is a former member of the widespread Islamic street gang.

Notes

Further reading

• 2011 The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang Natalie Y. Moore (Author), Lance Williams (Author) ISBN 978-1-55652-845-3
• Cooley, Will. "'Stones Run It': Taking Back Control of Organized Crime in Black Chicago, 1940-1975," Journal of Urban History 37:6 (November, 2011), 911-932.

External links

• FBI file on the El Rukn
• Black P Stones in Los Angeles by Streetgangs.com