The Almighty Black P Stone Nation

The Almighty Black P Stone Nation
The Almighty Black P Stone Nation

The Almighty Black P Stone Nation

The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang
By Natalie Y. Moore, By Lance Williams

SOCIAL SCIENCE

272 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: EPUB, PDF, Mobipocket, Trade Paper

EPUB, $9.99 (US $9.99) (CA $12.99)

ISBN 9781569768464

Rights: WOR

Chicago Review Press (Jan 2011)
Lawrence Hill Books

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Overview

The untold story of a notorious cabal

This exposé investigates the evolution of the Almighty Black P Stone Nation, a motley group of poverty-stricken teens transformed into a dominant gang accused of terroristic intentions. Interwoven into the narrative is the dynamic influence of leader Jeff Fort, who—despite his flamboyance and high visibility—instilled a rigid structure and discipline that afforded the young men a refuge and a sense of purpose in an often hopeless community. Details of how the Nation procured government funding for gang-related projects during the War on Poverty era and fueled bonuses and job security for law enforcement, and how Fort, in particular, masterminded a deal for $2.5 million to commit acts of terrorism in the United States on behalf of Libya are also revealed. In examining whether the Black P Stone Nation was a group of criminals, brainwashed terrorists, victims of their circumstances, or champions of social change, this social history provides an exploration of how and why gangs flourish and insight into the way in which minority crime is targeted in the community, reported in the media, and prosecuted in the courts.

Reviews

"Journalist Moore and scholar Williams, the son of a former member of a rival gang, draw on interviews, newspaper accounts, and court records to examine the rise and fall of the gang that started as the Blackstone Rangers and later morphed into the El Rukns."  —Booklist



"Moore and Williams demystify the gang—and bring out the quirks of charismatic founder Jeff Fort—in this well-researched book that digs out the truth, finds the humanity in urban legend and shows how church, state and community together created the most powerful, and contradictory, of street organizations." —Ebony (April 2011) 


"An insightful anatomy of Chicago’s iconic Blackstone Rangers and the street gang culture from which it emerged. The book is a rigorous mixture of scholarship and journalism that is rendered with a contextual empathy that’s rare in other literature on street gangs."  —Salim Muwakkil, senior editor, In These Times


"A provocative tale."  —Chicago Citizen


"[A] timely exposé on urban violence."  —Chicago Defender


"Filled with amazing and little known details and framed within Chicago African American history. The best and most accurate book on a contemporary Chicago gang ever written."  —John Hagedorn, author, People & Folks, Gangs, Crime, and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City



"A stunning book." —StreetWise (March 2, 2011)


"A must read for anyone interested in the history of Chicago." —The Chicago Crusader

Author Biography

Natalie Y. Moore is an author and a journalist who reports on issues of race and community for Chicago Public Radio. Her work has appeared in publications such as Bitch, Black Enterprise, the Chicago Reporter, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, Essence, and In These Times. She is coauthor of Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation. Lance Williams is an educator, an inner-city youth advocate and activist, and the son of a former Vice Lords member. He is a founder and a chairman of the board of the Know Thyself Program, a community-based organization providing cultural- and social-enrichment programs for youth in schools; a principal investigator of CeaseFire, an antiviolence initiative in Chicago; a board member of the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois program; and a member of the executive committee of the Governor’s Statewide Community Safety and Reentry Working Group. They both live in Chicago.