| Founded | Founded c. 1967 by Bennie Lee in or near Austin |
|---|---|
| Formerly known as | Apache Vice Lords |
| Affiliations |
People Nation
— c. 1981
–
2000 or later; |
| Colors | Give details |
| Primary ethnicities | African American |
| Symbols | Give details |
| Status | Active |
The story of Benny Lee can be found in multiple sources on the internet like the YouTube podcast “THE ORIGINAL OGs (Episode 16) — Benny Lee | The Original OGs Exclusive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0bScOz0bHc). Lee’s story is often accessible because of his journey from Vice Lord leader to activist, professor and mentor. Since his release from prison in 1981, Lee has been been admired by many and has been interviewed by several outlets.
The Apache Vice Lords
According to Benny Lee, moving to the Austin neighborhood in 1966 was not a welcoming experience for African Americans that were moving to south Austin for the first time in history. The first African Americans came to the area of Cicero Avenue and Jackson Avenue in 1965 and among those first families emerged the Cicero Vice Lords who were the first African American gang in Austin and the first Vice Lord gang in Austin. Benny Lee became familiar with Cicero Vice Lords and did not get along well with them. In the summer of 1967, the Cicero Vice Lords approached Lee and his friends in an aggressive confrontation. The leader of the Cicero Vice Lords Freddy Pie challenged Benny Lee to a fist fight. Lee put up a good fight against Pie but had to flee from the fight because he was losing. Freddie Pie admired Lee’s fighting ability and invited him to become a Vice Lord by having his own branch of the Vice Lords because Lee and his friends did not want to join the Cicero Vice Lords.
Ever since Benny Lee moved to Austin, him and his group of friends had fist fights with groups of white youths because the white youths targeted African Americans because this neighborhood was over 99% white at the time and many whites did not want African Americans in their community. Ever since white families started moving out of Cicero and Jackson area and no other whites were interested in moving into the neighborhood their was more affordable housing available for the black middle class. Benny Lee and his friends were determined to swim at the Columbus Park pool and were willing to fights whites along the way to use the pool then fight them on the way home from the pool too. In the summer of 1967 Benny Lee and his friends were told by the Cicero Vice Lords they had to join the Vice Lords and attend a meeting at Mandell United Methodist Church at Lavergne and Congress. At the meeting 13 year old Benny Lee would become the leader of his own group of Vice Lords. Troy Martin was the one that came up with the name for the group. Martin said they fought white kids like Geronimo and the Apache Indians; therefore, they became the “Apache Vice Lords” in the summer of 1967. Cicero Vice Lords and Apache Vice Lords were allies that teamed up to battle white gangs in the area. Apache Vice Lord territory became the area around Gladys Avenue and Lavergne Avenue.
The Four Corner Hustlers
In the year 1968, African Americans were now moving near Columbus Park and this gave them more access to the pool. The Four Corner Hustlers were a new gang from West Garfield Park and now members were living in south Austin and Central Austin many times fighting the same racial battles as Cicero Vice Lords and Apache Vice Lords but Four Corner Hustlers also fought Black P Stones moving into central Austin. When the Four Corner Hustlers first formed in Austin there was initial conflict between Vice Lords and Fours but it was soon smoothed over and Fours and Vice Lords were getting along.
The Shabazz family tree
The Apaches soon developed a reputation for violence. In one incident on Christmas Eve in the year 1970, two members of the Apaches robbed someone of their welfare checks. When the police came to seize the two members these two Apaches engaged in a gun battle with police that resulted in both boys getting killed. Bennie Lee himself ended up in juvenile detention for two years around this same time. From 1971 to 1973.
When Benny Lee went to the juvenile detention center in 1971, Troy Martin stepped in as the interim leader of the Apache Vice Lords. Freddie Pie was no longer leading the Cicero Vice Lords and Anthony Harris stepped into that role and was now in charge of the Cicero Vice Lords. Anthony Harris brought in a spiritual aspect into the Cicero Vice Lords blended with Islamic beliefs. Harris invented the concepts of the “Insane” and the “Tribe of El Shabazz” and Harris became known as “King Assad Shabazz” or “A.J.” This spiritual aspect stated that they originated from the Conservative Vice Lords and that they grew into a tree as the Shabazz family tree and the “Insane” is a branch on the tree. The “Insane” name was adopted by the Cicero Vice Lords as the “Cicero Insane Vice Lords.” Troy Martin would mostly leave the Apaches and had his own branch when his family moved to Central Avenue and Congress in 1971 near Columbus Park , Martin’s group would be the “Central Insane Vice Lords.” The Imperial Vice Lords moved to Austin in 1971 but would not join Insane until 1975 becoming “Imperial Insane Vice Lords.” When the Undertaker Vice Lords formed in 1972, they would also join the Insanes as the “Undertaker Cicero Insane Vice Lords.” The Apache Vice Lords did not become the “Apache Insane Vice Lords,” instead they only became “Insane Vice Lords” in 1971. The Insane Vice Lords wanted to pay the most homage to the Insanes and afterward Insane Vice Lord popularity soared and they started to become big in Austin. Insane Vice Lords even formed in central Austin at Central Avenue and Chicago Avenue which was a group of IVLs known to be ruthless.
IVL early branch outs
After the “Insane” was invented the Insane Vice Lords became the most popular group within the Insanes and expanded east of the Kenton Avenue railroad tracks into the West Garfield Park area as IVLs set up on Kilbourn Avenue at Madison Street these were the “K-Town” Insane Vice Lords. Insane Vice Lords were even bold enough to enter Holy City in North Lawndale and set up at 16th and Lawndale and 21st and Homan which are normal Conservative Vice Lord major pieces of territory. Insane Vice Lords even branched out into the Wicker Park community at Evergreen and Hoyne area in 1971. The Insane Vice Lords in the Wicker Park area were forming in the apartments along Hoyne Avenue in the oldest African American community in Wicker Park.
The Insane Heroin Super Highway
When the Insanes formed in 1971, it just so happened that in the same year the Mexican drug cartels began operating along Cicero Avenue in Austin because of the convenience to the 290 expressway Cicero Avenue exit ramp. This route could bring heroin all through the west side of Chicago and the western suburbs. When the Insanes formed in 1971, part of this new arrangement was involvement in the Cartel heroin trade up and down Cicero Avenue. All of the Insanes were involved and the main leadership of all these Vice Lord groups was the “Sane Gang.” Benny Lee was no drug dealer but Troy Martin became deeply involved alongside A.J. Even though Benny Lee was not involved in drug trafficking the Insane Vice Lords sure were involved and became major peddlers of heroin up and down Cicero Avenue and along Chicago Avenue. IVLs were running the dope game along Chicago Avenue from Austin through West Humboldt Park and even into East Village.
West Humboldt Park: 1975
In the year 1975, a new wave swept West Humboldt Park as a new racial change alongside a gang change altered West Humboldt Park permanently. The rest of the white population left by 1975 as did all the white gangs. African American gangs like Black P Stones withdrew from these streets as Vice Lord groups and Black Gangster Disciples moved in. The Insane Vice Lords were among the 1975 arrivals as they could now be found along Chicago Avenue and gathered at Chicago Avenue and Pulaski and at Division and Pulaski and at Huron and Spaulding. Insane Vice Lords were once deep in this neighborhood, in 1989 the IVLs flipped to Mafia Insane Vice Lords and that is one of the reasons Mafia Insanes Vice Lords are deep in West Humboldt Park.
Maywood and Bellwood
The Insane Vice Lords were not real big in the suburbs but they did move in strong into the suburbs of Maywood and Bellwood. The Cicero Insane Vice Lords would also move to Maywood along with multiple other Vice Lord groups. Maywood and Bellwood would became big with African American gangs starting in the early 1980s.
Joliet
Sometime in the early 1980s Insane Vice Lords moved into Joliet and by the end of the decade they had flipped to either Mafia Insane Vice Lords or Imperial Insane Vice Lords.
1981
In the year 1981, Benny Lee was released from prison and returned to the Austin neighborhood. Benny Lee was still the recognized leader of the Insane Vice Lords but he was not interested in becoming involved in the drug game or gangbanging. Lee had just been acquitted of involvement in the 1978 prison riot/murders and now he was back on the streets. In prison, Lee rose through the ranks of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation and achieved top leadership but upon release he was done being a gang leader and now was semi-retired from the Insane Vice Lords.
Benny Lee was released alongside many high ranking gang leaders during a prison release program between 1979-1982. Many associations were being made behind bars that transferred to the streets. Insane Vice Lords, Conservative Vice Lords and Four Corner Hustlers began associating more with Black P Stones from the south side and this caused the Vice Lords to inherit a war going on between Black P Stones and EL Rukns. EL Rukns declared sanctions on the Black P Stones in 1979 and by 1980 Vice Lords and Four Corner Hustlers began attending the Oriental Theater in downtown which was being frequented by the EL Rukns because the theater featured old gangster movies. Arguments and violence began escalating at the theater so badly in 1980 that the police sent in undercover officers to take down these gang members. On December 8, 1980, a shooting happened between EL Rukns and Vice Lords that caused a death. This meant war with EL Rukns caused Black P Stones to allow the Conservative Vice Lords, Four Corner Hustlers and Insane Vice Lords to the south side. Many long time Black P Stones sections flipped to Vice Lords in the early 80s which is most of what brought Vice Lords to the south side especially Insane Vice Lords who would have a hell of a legacy on the south side streets. This alliance was very short lived and by 1982, Stones and Vice Lords were at war.
Prairie Insane Vice Lords: Grand Boulevard
For many years I have heard about the Prairie Insane Vice Lords but it wasn’t until recently that I learned more details. I had always heard about how ruthless this group was but in the 80s until they vanished by the 1990s. When the Insane Vice Lords first swept the south side in the early 80s they chose a lonely project building that once stood at 4120 S. Prairie Avenue right at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and 41st Street. This building was constructed in 1962 and the first major gangs to move in were Black P Stones and Cobrastones (Mickey Cobras). In the mid-70s the Titanic P Stones moved into this building and became quite strong. When the Insane Vice Lords came to this project in about 1981 they flipped all the Titanic Stones to IVLs and the Insane Vice Lords became the biggest gang in this project and named themselves “Prairie Insane Vice Lords.” This project building was called “The Lonely” because it stood by itself further away from other projects. In 1989 the Insane Vice Lords in 4120 flipped to Mafia Insane Vice Lords and the Prairie Vice Lord legacy was closed.
South Chicago
By the early 80s, the South Chicago neighborhood on the far southeast side was becoming gang infested and full of poverty and crime. The neighborhood was now an even blend of African Americans and Hispanics and the gang makeup was along those same racial lines. Several new gangs formed and migrated to these streets in the late 70s and early 80s and the Insane Vice Lords were one of them settling in the area of 81st Street and Coles Avenue. This IVLs made lots of noise in the 80s until they flipped Mafia Insane Vice Lord in 1989.
48th & Vincennes: Grand Boulevard
In the early 80s Insane Vice Lords landed at 48th and Vincennes in the Grand Boulevard community and soon swelled in numbers to expand from 48th Street to 51st Street and from Martin Luther King Drive to Drexel. This was a strong Insane Vice Lord turf until 1989 when they all flipped Mafia Insane Vice Lord.
Washington Park Homes of 45th and Cottage Grove: Grand Boulevard
The Grand Boulevard community became a big target for settlement for Insane Vice Lords. Although the IVLs had to share these projects with Mickey Cobras and other groups, the IVLs still had a strong enough presence in the Washington Park projects in the 1980s until they flipped to Mafia Insane Vice Lords in 1989, the Mafia Insanes then dominated these building until they were torn down in 2002.
Reavis School
Insane Vice Lords would gather outside of Reavis Elementary School in the early 80s along the Kenwood and Grand Boulevard border. IVLs would gather in Houston Park nearby and grew a nice sized hood between Cottage Grove to Drexel and from 49th to 51st. This territory was called the “Terror Dome” because it was a ruthless IVL turf until 1989 when IVLs became Mafia Insane Vice Lords.
Rockford
Insane Vice Lords settled in an unlikely place in the mid-1980s arriving on the southwest side of Rockford among several other allied gangs. Insane Vice Lords had a good run until 1989 when they flipped to Mafia Insane Vice Lords and the MIVLs are still in Rockford on the southwest side.
Insane Vice Lords outside of Illinois
By 1984, the Insane Vice Lords were so deep and successful they were able to spread outside of Illinois as they settled in states like Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Nebraska and Iowa and became real deep in Mississippi. The out of state Insane Vice Lords became so successful they still exist presently.
The Mafia Insane Vice Lords: 1989
In the year 1989, Benny Lee fully renounced his gang ties besides hanging out with old friends. Troy Martin of the Central Insane Vice Lords took over the entire Insanes and declared Central Insane Vice Lords extinct. Martin’s “Mafia” concepts were supposed to supercede the Insanes; however, only Central Insanes completely vanished. Many Insane leaders on the streets did not agree with this and kept their Vice Lord mobs active; however, the majority of their gangs complied with the Mafia concepts and they flipped Mafia Insane Vice Lord in 1989. The Insane Vice Lords flipped very heavily and lost almost all their turf in Chicago and any suburbs.
The aftermath
When over 90% of the Insane Vice Lords flipped to Mafia Insane Vice Lords some IVL groups refused to flip and kept the IVL demonstration. These Insane Vice Lords were even rapped about by the rapper D.A. Smart in his 1997 song “Walk Wit Me.” In D.A. Smart’s rap song he has the lyrics, “Now let’s go see them Insane Vice Lords on the avenue in Austin they are the craziest I ever saw.” This song was written in 1997 and he was talking about IVLs on “the avenue” which refers to Chicago Avenue and he said in “Austin.” This shows the IVLs were still active. Not only that I remember starting high school in Romeoville as a kid in the mid-90s and in shop class there was a locker with “IVL” in big black letters and the paint was maybe a year old or less, and this was 1995! By the late 1990s there was no more IVL activity in the city or the suburbs.
At one time, the Insane Vice Lords were one of the largest Vice Lord factions and were one of the craziest living up to the “Insane” name, but their legacy was swallowed up by the Mafia Insane Vice Lords, but one should know that much of the MIVL legacy and territories was originally built by the Insane Vice Lords in the 70s and 80s.
Austin neighborhood, Established 1967
Decks of Austin
Chicago & Central Ave
Laverge & Gladys
Leamington & Adams (Moore Park)
East Village neighborhood
Decks of East Village
Chicago Ave & Damen
Grand Boulevard Established 1981
Decks of Grand Boulevard
44th & Evans (Washington Park projects)
48th & Vincennes
48th to 51st, Martin Luther King Drive to Drexel
41st to 43rd, Wabash to Calumet (The Dub, The Lonley, Lonely building, Prairie Insane Vice Lords, 4120 S. Prairie project)
Kenwood neighborhood Established 1981
Decks of Kenwood
49th to 51st, Cottage Grove to Drexel “The Terror Dome”(Reavis Elementary School, Houston Park)
North Lawndale neighborhood
Decks of North Lawndale
16th & Lawndale
21st & Homan
South Chicago neighborhood, Established 1981
Decks of South Chicago
81st Place & Exchange
82nd & Coles
80th & Coles
83rd & Exchange
South Shore neighborhood Established 1981
Decks of South Shore
75th to 79, Yates to Colfax (Terror Town)
West Garfield Park neighborhood
Decks of West Garfield Park
Fulton & Hamlin
Kilbourn and West End to Madison
West Humboldt Park neighborhood Established 1975-present years
Decks of West Humboldt Park
Thomas to Chicago Ave, Pulaski to Keystone
Division & Pulaski
Huron & Spaulding
Keystone to Lawndale, Augusta to Huron (The Ave)
Augusta to Iowa, Hamlin to Lawndale
Chicago from Monticello to Drake
Augusta & Monticello
Wicker Park neighborhood 1971-1989
Decks of Wicker Park
Evergreen & Hoyne
Suburbs
Bellwood
Maywood
Gary, Indiana
Rockford
Joliet
