Latin Stylers

The Latin Stylers were not started in New York City like some legends say, they started at the intersection of Kedzie and Diversey in the Logan Square neighborhood In the year 1969.  After that I do not know anything more about this organization in the late 1960s or the 1970s.  I do not know who the founder was or if they expanded at all in the 1970s.  They were just something small that operated in Logan Square.  Stylers also had a unique friendship with the Spanish Lords in the 1970s.  This friendship ended when the Latin Stylers joined Folks in 1981,

Some Stylers moved along side Hispanic migration to the Austin neighborhood in 1979 by North Ave.  The Stylers opened North Ave and Lamon and Keating and Wabansia.  The Stylers settled at the same time as the Latin Brothers which started a violent gang rivarly that would last into the 1990s when Hispanics began to migrate out of Austin.  Stylers also fought the Gaylords heavily in northern Austin too.

The second part of this story starts at the intersection of Ashland and Foster in the Uptown/Edgewater neighborhood border in the summer of 1979.  A group of 7 teenagers that attended Senn High School got together and come up with the name “Young Stylers,” and they were just that, young guys that dressed in style and were the life of the party.  The name was thought up by either “Lil Kong” or “Player” who were original members along with “Crazy Pops,” “Slim,” “Madman,” “Leo,” and “Playboy.”  Within no time the Young Stylers grew to have over 20 members and were big shots at Nicholas Senn High School at 5900 North Glenwood Ave.

At Foster and Ashland the Stylers battled with the Gaylords, Insane Popes, and Thorndale Jagoffs.  These were all white gangs and the Stylers were a Puerto Rican gang; therefore, that was grounds for not getting along with each other.  Around Senn High School the Stylers fought with Latin Kings and Harrison Gents, then Vice Lords and Brazers when they first arrived at the school.

The Young Stylers found an alliance with the Black Gangster Disciples and made them their strongest ally, other than that the Stylers had no other allies really until 1983 when they came across a gang from Logan Square called the Latin Stylers.  The Latin Stylers and Young Stylers merged and combined concepts.  The organization adopted the Young Stylers’ colors and hand sign while the name “Latin Stylers” was kept and “Young Stylers” was discarded.  The organization got into the Folk Nation alliance thanks to the help of the Latin Disciples (MLDs).

The 1990s saw an increase in popularity of the Stylers as they were gunning down their enemies.  The Stylers were able to expand into the Belmont – Cragin neighborhood around Blackhawk Park.  They opened turf at Altgeld and Laramie and Belden and Lamon.  The Stylers then fought several other gangs in the area that were gunning for control of the area.  The Stylers soon attracted a lot of police attention and several key members ended up in prison, this hurt the gang’s operations.

Gentrification was another enemy for the Stylers as their original hoods in Uptown and Logan Square became renovated and too expensive to live in.  The Stylers had shrunk over the years and often have spats with the MLDs because they no longer go by Maniac Latin Stylers they started going by “Renegade Latin Stylers,” this was heavily influenced by their allies the Milwaukee Kings that broke away from the Maniacs and developed a Renegade policy as well.

The Latin Stylers have maintained a presence in the Belmont-Cragin community through recent years.

Please send in 1969 and 1970s, 1980, 1990 pics!  I have also never seen Latin Styler pics from the 80s only Young Styler ones!

Questions:

1. Who was the founder and what happened to him?
2. How did the Latin Stylers and Young Stylers meet?
3. What happened to Kedzie and Diversey and what year did it fall?

Known sections of the Latin Stylers past and present

Austin neighborhood Established 1979

Sections of Austin

Keating & Wabansia

North Ave & Lamon

Belmont – Cragin neighborhood 90s-present

Sections of Belmont – Cragin

Beldon from Lamon to La Crosse

Laramie & Altgeld

Belden & Lawler 90s-present

East Humboldt Park neighborhood

Sections of East Humboldt Park

Le Moyne and Fairfield

Logan Square neighborhood Established 1969-present years

Sections of Logan Square

Kedzie & Wrightwood/Logan (Logan Square Park)

Diversey & Kedzie Established 1969

Uptown neighborhood Established as Young Stylers 1979-1983

Sections of Uptown

Ashland & Foster Established as Young Stylers 1979-1983