This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008)

The Almighty Black P. Stone Nation (often abbreviated BPSN or BPS) the A.B.P.S.N is a black Chicago-based Street Gang estimated to have more than 42,000 gang members. The gang was originally formed in the late 1950s as the Blackstone Rangers as a civil rights organization. In later years, a quasi-Islamic faction of the gang emerged, naming themselves the El Rukn tribe of the Moorish Science Temple in America (or simply El Rukns), under their 'religious leader' and Blackstone Rangers founder Abdullah-Malik (born Jeff Fort)^[1]. The BPSN has managed to finance itself through a wide array of criminal activities and are also part of the large Chicago-based gang alliance known as the People Nation.^[2]

The Black P. Stones originated, and is based, in the South Side of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood^{[citation needed]}. Their main rivals are the Gangster Disciples aka G.D.N., and to a lesser degree, the Black Disciples aka B.D.N. They are rivals to all Folk Nation gangs, white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Brotherhood, and white power skinheads. Their allies are the Vice Lords, Latin Kings and other People Nation Gangs, Black Separatist Groups, Zulu Nation and Five Percenters. There are 7 BPS branches in Chicago: Gangster Stones, Jet Black Stones, Rubinite Stones, Familia Stones, Puerto Rican Stones, Corner Stones, and Black P. Stones. All these branches have many factions.

[edit] Locations

Black P Stones have a heavy presence and strongholds throughout many American urban areas. Besides their home base in Chicago, members can be found in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Moreno Valley, New York, Rochester, Sacramento, Springfield, Peoria, Albany, Jackson, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Baltimore, Birmingham, Cleveland, Memphis, Newark, Oakland, Denver, Fargo, Biloxi, Mobile, Phoenix, Boston,Louisiana,Little Rock, St.Louis,Minneapolis and Maryland bloomington IL Dyersburg,Tennessee,Wisconsin,[Detroit] as well as other parts of Michigan. They are also found some parts of Oregon and California, all though the West Coast.

[edit] History

The ABPSN was originally founded in 1958 as the Black Stone Rangers in 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 to fight against White street gangs. In the 1960s, they became one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in Chicago. Jeff began to lead the gang thus, changing the name to Black P. Stone Nation. He transformed BPS into a black nationalistic group, but still involved the gang in street crime and drugs. BPSN founding member Eugene Hairston was incarcerated on drug charges on June 6, 1966,^[3] and Fort was arrested for mismanagement of government grants which totaled $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. Following meetings during 1986 with Libyan operatives from Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi , Fort was charged with buying weapons to commit terrorist acts on behalf of the Libyan government after he converted to Islam and gave the gang an Islamic doctrine.^[4] This was not the earliest charge of Islamic terrorism in the United States coming 9 years after the Hanafi Muslim takeover of the Bnai Brith offices in Washington D.C. on March 9, 1977. Today, although Fort (referred to as Caliph Abdul-Malik) continues to have considerable influence over the BPSN from prison, the various Black Stones splinter groups suffer from rampant infighting, as there is no longer a clear leader. There are also two groups who have separated from the BPSN:Mickey Cobras who were supporters of Mickey Cogwell who was a co-founder of BPS but was killed by Jeff Fort and the Titanic Stones who were supporters of Eugene Hairston who was also a BPS founder but was starting to have problems with Jeff Fort.

[edit] Islamic identification

There is a strong Islamic foundation within the Black P. Stone Nation which can be attributed to the Moorish Science Temple of America and mainstream Sunni Islam. BPS first started to embrace Islam in the late 1970s when Jeff Fort was released from prison in the early days of the beginning of the five percent nation, now known as the Almighty God Body Nation. Jeff Fort changed his name to Khalifa Abdullah Malik, then converted Black P. Stone to El Rukn. El Rukn adopted their Islamic principles from the Moorish Science Temple of America which was the forerunner of Black Muslim groups such as the Nation of Islam and the Five Percenters. They also drew a lot of influences from traditional Sunni Islam. They also were greatly inspired by the historic Black African Moors who came from Northern and Western Africa and conquered Iberia in the Middle Ages whom were strict Muslims. That is why they are called Moes as a tribute to their Moorish heritage. Even though, Jeff Fort and El Rukn created the Islamic base for BPS, nowadays, it is not as solid. Although a significant amount of Stones are Muslims, however, are gangbangers. With a lot of sets branched out across America, many don't embrace the Islamic principles. Many Chicago based and influenced BPS in the Midwest, on the East, and in the South embrace Islamic doctrines, but a lot don't especially BPS Bloods/Black Stone West. BPS Bloods/Black Stone West does not embrace Islam because during the time that they were started in 1969, BPS in Chicago were not even thinking about Islam. Also when Jeff Fort started El Rukn he only limited it to Black P. Stones in Chicago. But a few have accepted Islam, but very few have accepted the Islamic dotrines of El Rukn like the founder of Black Stone West; T. Rodgers. Black Stone West are not the only BPS set who mostly don't accept Islam. Jeff Fort was not the only leader of BPS, there was also Eugene "Bull" Hairston who was mostly fascinated with organized crime and gangbanging not Islam, black separatism, and politics like Jeff Fort. When Jeff Fort formed El Rukn, a lot members left with Hairston and became renegades. Thus a few sets like the Titanic Stones who supports Hairston don't embrace Islam. The acceptance of Islam is not just confined to BPS sets but to individual members. For example, most Stones in the South don't personally acknowledge Islam, but many on the East does, and in Chicago, more than a quarter of BPS are Muslims and the rest just simply study it whereas most BPS members in California pay very little to none attention to Islam. But Islam has also brought a lot of negative attention from the Federal Government and Law Enforcement to BPS because of their ties to domestic and international Islamic terrorism. There were declared a threat to homeland security after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.Even though El Rukn is nearly inactive on the streets,however, the religious political body of the BPSN now exists as the Masjid Al Kabah under Jeff Fort and his Islamic clergy. Showing their belief that Black Peace Stone believed that the black man was the original man of the planet earth. Thus proving that All Peace Stone's was given birth from The Almighty God Body Nation.

[edit] BPS Bloods

The only two main types of BPS, the Moorish Islamic Chicago based People Nation mob and the Renegade type BPS sets that they consider renegades because they don't go by the Jeff They still go by Eugene and Mickey Cogwell original ways but many talks are in progress. Although some people believe that BPS Bloods is Stones that is not true. It all started in 1969, when T.Rodgers, moved with his family to the West Adams/Mid City area of West Los Angeles. During this time in Los Angeles there was a dramatic increase in Black street gang activity after the fall of the Black Power due to the tactics of the Federal Government and law enforcement. As a result of being vulnerable to gang intimidation, T. Rodgers never contact Jeff Fort and the Main 21 (The leadership council of BPS) so he could get permission to start a chapter of BPS in California and it was never approved. They first started as an honest young community organization that defended their community from violent street gangs such as the Crips but, soon as they began to gain a reputation as righteous defenders of their neighborhood, they started warring with Crip sets like the Westside Crips, Rollin'30s Harlem Crips and the Hoover Crips. At the time other gangs were fighting Crips such as Pirus, Brims, Denver Lanes, Athens Park, Bounty Hunters, Mad Swans and others. In 1972, T.Rodgers meet with the leaders from Compton decided with the other gang leaders to form the Bloods. Over time the Black P. Stones became one of the largest and more powerful Black gangs in South Central Los Angeles. The BPS in Los Angeles consists of mainly the Black P. Stones(Bity)and Black P. Stones (Jungles) but all affiliate groups of the Black P. Stone Nation in California are considered extremely violent, especially the Black P. Stones (Jungles).FBI had even launched an investigation called "Operation Stone Cold" where they arrested the leaders of the gang. They are called BPS Bloods, Black Peace Stones, Black Stone Bloods, Blood Stones, and Black Stone West. Their rivals are most Crip sets, 18th Street, Mara Salvatrucha 13 and a few other Sureno gangs that have hatred for Blacks. The BPS Bloods along with other Bloods sets in the California prisons united to organized the United Blood Nation (Not to be confused with the New York prison gang that created the East Coast Bloods in 1993)and the United Blood Line that are allied to the Black Guerilla Family in the late 1980s.

[edit] Gang Identification

[edit] Chicago Influenced

• Colors
  • red
  • black
  • green
• Symbols:
  • Pyramid
  • Crescent moon
  • # 7
  • 5 pointed star
  • Eye

• Handsigns:
  • the open hand the (five)
  • Pyramid
  • Black Power

• Clothing
  • Hats to the Leftside

[edit] California Influenced

• Colors
  • Red and Black
  • Green

• Symbols
  • Letter B
  • Pyramid
  • Bulldog

• Hand Signs
  • Blood spelled out with their hands
  • Black power salute
  • B Sign

• Clothing
  • Bandanas to the rightside

[edit] See also

• Hood 2 Hood: Blockumentary

[edit] Notes