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The Crips were founded in Los Angeles, California in 1969 by 15-year-old Raymond Washington. Washington initially called the gang the Baby Avenues in an attempt to emulate older gangs and activities carried out by the Black Panthers, with which he was fascinated. This evolved to Avenue Cribs and then Cribs as nicknames for the age of the members.
The name Crips was first introduced in the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper in a description by crime victims of young men with canes, as if they were crippled. The name stuck.
Stanley Tookie Williams, generally acknowledged as co-founder of the Crips, started his own gang called the Westside Crips. The Crips became popular throughout southern Los Angeles as more youth gangs joined; at one point they outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1, sparking disputes with non-Crip gangs including the L.A. Brims, Athens Park Boys, the Bishops and the Denver Lanes. The Crips eventually became the most powerful gang in California. In response, all of the other besieged gangs, including the Pirus, formed an alliance that later became the Bloods.
Along with friends, Williams and Washington created the initial intent of continuing the revolutionary ideology of the 1960s. These aspirations were unattainable because of a general lack of political leadership and guidance. Washington and Williams were never able to develop an agenda for social change within the community and instead became obsessed with protecting themselves from other gangs in the community.
By 1971 the gang's notoriety had spread across Los Angeles. The gang became increasingly violent as they attempted to expand their turf. By the early 1980s the gang was heavily involved with drug trade.
The Great Divide
Bloods Formation
By late 1971, the Avalon Garden Crips and the Inglewood Crips had joined forces with the other Crip sets and began to engage in warfare with non-Crip sets. They began to expand to non-Crip gang territories controlled by gangs including The L.A. Brims, a powerful street gang, beginning in 1969 on the Westside. The Crips targeted these gangs because they were non-Crips. Several gangs eventually became part of the Blood family, including the Bishops and Athens Park boys. The Denver Lanes also had conflicts with the Crips, but were outnumbered and eventually became unknown in California for some time. The Piru Street Boys, who presented a powerful force in Compton, actually collaborated with the Crips prior to 1972, as the Crips had affected the Piru neighborhoods. For a short time the Pirus were known as the Piru Street Crips, and they also wore the traditional blue rags (bandana) and blue Chucks (sneakers) as part of their attire.
During the summer of 1972 the Crips and the Pirus had a conflict and warfare ensued. The Pirus, like other northern gangs, were outnumbered and the Crips prevailed. The Pirus wanted to terminate peaceful relations with the Crips, so they turned to the Lueders Park Hustlers for assistance. The Lueders Park Hustlers agreed and a meeting was called on Piru Street. The Pirus also invited every gang targeted by Crip sets to join the meeting. The Crips had murdered a L.A. Brim member earlier that year, so the Brims attended the meeting, as well. Other gangs that attended were the Denver Lanes and the Bishops.
At the meeting, the groups discussed how to combat Crip intimidation, along with the creation of a new alliance to counter the Crips. At that time the color of bandanas was not important, but since the Crips were known to wear blue bandanas, the Pirus and the other groups decided to discontinue the wearing of blue bandanas. They decided to take on the wearing of an opposite color, red, and created a united organization which later became known as the Bloods. The Pirus, Brims, Athens Park Boys, and Pueblos decided to unite with the Bloods, and soon after, other gangs who had been threatened or attacked by Crips joined the Bloods.
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