White Fence

White Fence
Founded 1900[1][2][3][4][5]
Founding location Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, United States
Years active 1910s – Present
Territory Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles Las Vegas Nevada, West Los Angeles, ·
Membership 3000+

White Fence, also known by the acronym WF,[6][7] and formerly known as La Purissima Crowd, is a street gang which was founded in Los Angeles.

History

White Fence is an old established neighborhood in Boyle Heights adjoined to East Los Angeles.[3][8] Even though the gang claims it goes back to 1900,[9] the gang did not emerge until the 1910s when it started as a male sports team associated with the La Purissima Church.[1][2][3][4][5] It soon developed into a notorious street gang in Los Angeles. At first it was called La Purissima Crowd, but gradually changed its name to White Fence, after the white picket fence that surrounded La Purissima Church. At a time when racism plagued the area, the name Fence could also be interpreted as a symbolic barrier between the white residents in the area and the Hispanic residents of the neighborhood. During the 1950s and 1960s, White Fence was considered one of the most violent and powerful gangs in East Los Angeles.[10][11] The rivalry between the gang and another Hispanic gang, Maravilla, is one of the longest, ongoing feuds in all of Los Angeles, a rivalry going back to the 1930s.[9][12] White Fence was the first gang in East Los Angeles to use firearms, chains and other dangerous weapons.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sheldon, R. G., Tracey, S. K., & Brown, W. B. (2001). Youth gangs in American society. (2nd ed., pp. 43-44). Florence, KY: Wadsworth Thomson Learning.
  2. 1 2 Hohm, C. F., & Glynn, J. A. (2002). California's social problems. (2nd ed., pp. 44-45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
  3. 1 2 3 Moore, J. W. (1991). Going down to the barrio: homeboys and homegirls in change. (pp. 1–181). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
  4. 1 2 "White Fence | Street Gangs Resource Center". streetgangs.com. 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Spergel, I. A. (1955). The youth gang problem: a community approach. (p. 155). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  6. ↑ Bag, A. (2011). Violence girl: East l.a. rage to Hollywood stage, a chicana punk story. (p. 66). Port Townsend, WA: Feral House.
  7. ↑ "U.S. gang acronyms and abbreviations". accuracyproject.org. September 12, 2012.
  8. ↑ Griņie, G. M. (2008). The way out. (p. 20). Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation.
  9. 1 2 Chris Blatchford, The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer, HarperCollins, 2008.
  10. ↑ Rosen, F. (2005). The historical atlas of American crime. (pp. 235-237). New York, NY: Facts on File Inc.
  11. ↑ Chris Blatchford, The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer, HarperCollins, 2008. Page 102.
  12. ↑ Vinson, J.; Crame, J.; Von Seeburg, K. "Rocky Mountain Information Network, (2008). Surenos" (PDF).
  13. ↑ Mazon, M. (1984). The zoot-suit riots: the psychology of symbolic annihilation. (p. 5). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

External links

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