Back of the Yards (New City)

The Back of the Yards neighborhood is the third historic neighborhood of extreme Chicago poverty and extreme gang activity that dates all the way back to the 19^th century, second behind the Cabrini Green area of the Near North Side neighborhood and Bridgeport.

The area was first platted and settled in the year 1865 when the construction of the Union Stock Yards began that opened on Christmas Day of that year.  The area was a part of Lake Township that was developed in the year 1850.  Lake Township would offer a major stock yard, slaughterhouse, and meat packing plant that offered to employ thousands of newly arrived immigrants.  Irish and German immigrants were the first to arrive and settle in this area as they had no means for transportation nor could they afford public transportation.  The area was platted with several cheap homes and apartment buildings that could easily house the impoverished immigrants for a cheap rate.  The city of Chicago heavily discriminated against the Irish back in these days but the town of “Lake” was perfect for them due to how cheap living was.

The stock yards dumped gallons of carnal waste of animal remnants and refuses into the Chicago River polluting the water giving it the term “Bubbly Creek.”  The stock yards would dump other waste in the streets and all around because there was no regulation due to the area being severely impoverished and neglected.  The streets were not paved and there was no sewage system in this town as trash was strewn about in the streets and especially the alleyways.  Workers lived in already dilapidated buildings with no toilets or running water.  Many slept on dirt ground over pieces of cardboard.  These horrid conditions gave rise to Irish street gangs that roamed the neighborhood looking to steal food and other items and to also brawl with other Irish gangs.  Crooked ward bosses, business men and crooked politicians found the area to be ripe with young thugs looking for any opportunity to make even a penny by doing a dirty deed.  The Irish gang members would be paid to terrorize voters, cause damage to businesses or even hurt someone in exchange for a small payment from the crooked ward bosses. The cycle would continue once these Irish gang members grew older and became active in politics in Chicago’s corrupt political machine. Irish gangs bullied the German youths in the neighborhood and also newly arrived Czech youths in the 1870s. The Irish gangs were controlled by crooked politics and by the Irish Mafia.

In the 1880s Polish immigrants made their way into this town of Lake and took up employment in the stock yards, the yards loved employing them because they were seen as “strikebreakers,” which were newer employees that were more grateful to deal with low pay and the harsh and long working hours.

The gangs of Lake were harsh and violent even back in the 1880s; Irish gangs like the Bearfoots, Hamburgs, Old Rose Athletic Club, Shielders, Dukies were the dominating forces in the neighborhood and now had influence in Canaryville and Bridgeport.

In the 1880s the first generations of Irish gang bangers had grown up and were in alumni versions of these gangs as they took up many political positions while still being gang affiliated.  In the year 1889 the town of Lake was annexed into the City of Chicago and the community near the Union Stock Yards became known as the “Back of The Yards” while the mostly Irish neighborhood to the east was known as “Canaryville.” The whole area that encompassed both neighborhoods became the official neighborhood of “New City.”  The Back of The Yards name came from the fact that the community was built around the Union Stock Yards, it also referenced how the stock yards dumped all their waste into the back yards of the residents.

In that same year of 1889 Samuel Gross built several “working man’s Cottages” that were small, affordable homes for workers; however, they would soon deteriorate just like the rest of the neighborhood.

In the 1890s African Americans began taking up employment in the stock yards and in the 1900s-decade Lithuanian and Slovak immigrants also began employment in the yards and took up residence.

In the 1900s decade many of the Irish and Germans had achieved some upward mobility and moved to Canaryville and Bridgeport or elsewhere.  Many achieved that mobility from getting government jobs or becoming involved in organized crime.

During World War I a small cluster of Mexican immigrants came to live and work in the Back of The Yards community making the neighborhood even more of a cultural melting pot.  The cultures would clash throughout the years in the neighborhood and in the stock yards among workers.

On July 27^th 1919 a massive race riot broke out in Chicago when a black teenager drowned to death at 29^th Street and Lake Michigan in the Douglas neighborhood.  This neighborhood was struggling with black and white race relations since the neighborhood was changing from white to black.  The beach in Douglas had an unofficial racial divide at 29^th Street and a black teenager accidentally crossed that line, and a group of white youths felt justified in throwing rocks which struck the boy’s head causing him to fall in the water to his death.  This sparked a massive war on the south side between whites and blacks that even resulted in shootings and deaths.  15 white men were killed in the riots while 23 blacks were killed.  The police did very little to stop the rioting as they were on the side of the white man.  The state militia needed to intervene since the city had no interest in putting down the uprising.  The rioting and brawling happened all around the New City neighborhood.  The Irish gangs of Canaryville gained a major reputation for battling invading gangs of blacks that were trying to cross over into the neighborhood or near it during the riots.  The Irish gangs fought savagely and from there on, Canaryville gangs became well known, and Canaryville was said to be one of the toughest of neighborhoods when in reality the Back of The Yards was much crazier as Canaryville has always been a neighborhood that tried to remain stable and middle class.

In the 1930s the Great Depression era threatened to make conditions worse for workers and for the community living standards as a whole, but the now mostly Polish populace decided they had enough of this and began forming the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee and the Back of The Yards Neighborhood Council that worked tirelessly to force the stockyards to provide better working conditions in the yards and also to regulate the yards from polluting the neighborhood to death. By 1939 they had achieved their goal and better conditions, and pollution control helped better the community.  The Union Stock Yards employed over 40,000 Chicagoans by their peak in the 1940s but by 1952 the development of trucking routes to export and import meat around the country called for a closing of several meat packing houses and as the 1950s progressed employment in the area began to downsize causing more poverty and socioeconomic problems this brought about another breed of street gangs known as greaser gangs.

The Back of The Yards and Canaryville had the most violent greaser gangs in the entire city that were known to be the toughest in the city. Greaser type gangs began forming as early as the late 1940s.  The Rebels formed in 1949 and became the most notorious gang in the Back of the Yards.  The Rebels were one tough group as they quickly dominated the neighborhood by the early 1950s.

The Rebels fought outside gangs mostly as they slugged it out with groups like Chinatown Dragons and Sons of Italy.  The Spartans were another gang that tried to exist, but they ended up joining the Rebels in 1956.  The Rebels would make the news multiple times between 1956 and 1958 growing their forces more.  The attention brought heat on the Rebels by 1959 and a group of some of the toughest of the original Rebels formed the notorious Saints.

One thing the early gangs of Bridgeport seemed to have in common in the 50s was a mutual dissatisfaction with African Americans living in the community. Although one will not find much news articles to back up these racial differences, when I have talked to many people that grew in this neighborhood there was a lot of racism toward African Americans. At the time African Americans were moving into neighboring Englewood but not as much in neighboring West Englewood. In the year 1958, the Dan Ryan Expressway construction changed Chicago and especially uprooted much of the black community in Washington Park and Fuller Park causing many of these displaced black families to migrate to Englewood. Many of these black families were impoverished as they came from blighted tenement apartments that once adorned the area where the Dan Ryan Expressway now sits. Many long time mostly white residents were furious in Englewood which led to some violence and the formation of the notorious Black Disciples/Gangster Disciples and the Mickey Cobras. When the Dan Ryan move-ins happened, the mostly white community north of Garfield Boulevard/55th Street worked together to keep their homes of higher value and white groups roamed along 55^th Street making sure blacks stayed south of 55^th. From Racine Avenue to Wallace Street, southeast Back of the Yards was on high alert about African Americans moving close. West of Racine Avenue was in alignment with West Englewood, a whiter community; therefore, anxieties were not as high. The ultimate fear was a loss of housing value and depreciation of the neighborhood which ended up being valid fears because redlining was very real, and majority black communities would automatically become redlined by banks. Redlining was an evil practice that preyed on both white and black Chicagoans but it ended up damaging the black community in the long term much more than white families.

In the early 1960s African Americans now made up about 90% of Englewood and now African Americans were living right along the 55^th Street border more than ever. The Devil’s Disciples (Black Disciples/Gangster Disciples) now laid claim to territory as north as 56^th Street in Englewood which caused the formation of white gangs in the Back of the Yards near the 55^th Street border. One gang was the Halsted Street Hustlers that congregated at 55^th and Halsted. There were many apartments to rent from 55^th to 57^th Street at time as well as from 54^th to 55^th between Back of the Yards and Englewood. These apartments became affordable for Puerto Rican families that had mostly migrated within the 55^th and Halsted area. The Hispanic population of Back of the Yards was mostly Mexican before the 60s; therefore, they Puerto Ricans were a new culture that didn’t mesh well with the mostly white community north of 55^th and the mostly African American community south of 55^th. Puerto Ricans were in the center of racial disputes. Puerto Rican youths ended up tangling with white gangs but most of all, the Devil’s Disciples from Englewood. Legend has it that in 1962, the Puerto Rican youths fought back by formed the Village Sharks gang at 55^th and Halsted which was already claimed by the Halsted Street Hustlers. I can’t tell you who won that war, if there was a war that is, but the Village Sharks are the ones who remained at 55^th and Halsted while Halsted Hustlers ended up moving down 55^th to 55^th and Ashland, hanging out in Sherman Park which was still more of white area of southern Back of the Yards in the 60s. The Village Sharks were tough warriors that held their own very well and became legends of the Back of the Yards.

In the early 60s, the Rebels began to break up and many groups of them broke off into new small gangs they had formed. This seemed to start with the Saints that broke from the Rebels in 1959 and by the early 60s young Saints roamed the streets known for petty crimes. This was first described in a February 11, 1998, Chicago Tribune article about Back of the Yards gangs and residents interviewed remembered the Saints of the early 60s as young boys that “threw rocks.” Other breakaway groups from the Rebels like Muscaduddlers, Demons, Cornell Dukes, Cherry Busters, and Ravens formed by the mid-60s and by the mid-60s Rebels were a small outfit that mainly consisted of older men that drank in the bars together reflecting on times passed. The Saints became much more known by 1964 when they reached high school age and took over the Davis Park area.

In the year 1966, another Puerto Rican migration wave came to the southeast part of the community joining the previous group that arrived in the early 60s. Just like the first group, the second wave experienced racial hostility from whites in the area and African Americans just south of the 55^th Street border. The Disciples of Englewood were a constant enemy for many Puerto Rican youths; therefore, many Hispanic youths by 55^th and Halsted joined a Latin King branch that started at 57^th and Halsted. Other youths joined the Village Sharks and others were already in gangs from up north. The most common gang that migrating Puerto Rican youths were already a member of was the Emerald Knights from the north side. Emerald Knights and Village Sharks became very close allies as they fought white gangs, Disciples and Latin Kings together.

West of Racine Avenue, the Halsted Hustlers along with several other youths formed the Gaylords in 1966 that hung out at Sherman Park and 55^th and Ashland. The burger King Boys formed that same year at 55^th and Ashland named after the Burger King that was on that corner. Many gang fights ensued between Gaylords and Burger King Boys. West Englewood was beginning heavier racial change by 1966 from white to black and the Black P Stones were becoming large in that community to help African American youths fighting racial battles. Black P Stones did not feel they needed to adhere to racial boundaries as many wondered north of Garfield Boulevard into southwest Back of the Yards. Southeast Back of the Yards was becoming increasingly Hispanic at the time but southwest Back of the Yards was whiter, and many whites did not like people of color in Sherman Park. Groups like the Gaylords protected the park from what they deemed as undesirables and mainly wanted to keep Englewood youths out of the park, especially if they ran with gangs like the Disciples and Stones. Gaylords had such a bitter war with Stones, there were shootings between them and the Gaylords even asked to extend an olive branch to the Disciples to fight the Stones, the Disciples never accepted but their issues seemed to dissipate after that offering.

Another wave of Puerto Rican families moved to the 55th and Halsted area which brought in the Emerald Knights street gang that came from the north side in 1966.  Emerald Knights and Village Sharks became allies that fought the same enemies. Emerald Knights would also tangle with the same enemies as the Sharks which included Latin Kings and Disciples.

By the later 60s, some greaser type gangs in the northern Back of the Yards opened club houses which unified multiple gangs together. Rebels would have their final years in the late 60s and by 1970 they had become completely inactive on the streets. “The Settlement” was a building located at 45^th Street and McDowell Avenue next to Guardian Angel day care. These businesses no longer exist, but in the late 60s they were bustling with activity as multiple white gangs gathered at this clubhouse including some of the Saints. These groups fought with Bridgeport gangs especially if they were Mexican and they fought with Back of the Yards gangs south of 47^th Street. At one time the combined forces of the Settlement was strong.

In the year 1970, the first African American families were moving into the Back of the Yards and these families were moving to southeast Back of the Yards between Racine Avenue to Wallace Street and from 51^st Street to 55^th Street. This was the same area that Puerto Rican people were migrating to in the 60s. In the year 1971, white flight ensued in the southeast part of the neighborhood in response to the new black community moving in. Many white families felt this area would soon be an extension of Englewood and fled in fear. Block busting efforts, although technically illegal at that time, were not helping the situation and became more of a masked effort because of the laws. For the most part, African Americans living in the Back of the Yards was unheard of prior to the 70s, so the early 70s was a time of culture shock and gangs would get involved. In the same year of 1971 the King Cobrastones formed in southeast Back of the Yards which was an African American gang from the Robert Taylor public housing projects. Charles Hardwick was the founder of these Cobras and he has been outspoken about his story in recent decades. Hardwick identified a racial issue and the fact that African Americans were not welcomed; therefore, he took over the southeast side before any other gangs could take over. The King Cobrastones were a gang that was part of the Black P Stone nation which was a federation of closely allied gangs at the time which was the beginning of the Black P Stone presence in the community and the beginning of “Moe Town.” Hardwick and his Cobras named the area “Moe Town” in the earlier 70s and it was owned by the Cobras. Village Sharks and Emerald Knights also called southeast Back of the Yards home in the earlier 70s but I am not sure about any rivalries with Cobras but I think they were fighting them for this area. One thing for sure Cobras, Knights and Sharks were all fighting Disciples from Englewood. Village Sharks and Emerald Knights merged together in the early 70s to become the “Latin Souls.” The Latin Souls now claimed 55^th and Halsted

Once the Union Stock Yards closed in 1971, many Back of the Yards residents lost their jobs which was one factor that drove white flight in the early 70s, but it also brought increased poverty in the surrounding area. Some white flight even happened in southwest Back of the Yards in the early 70s which is how some members of the Latin Kings were able to move into that area but not enough members to establish an official section, not only that there were not enough Hispanic youths to recruit yet on the southwest side.

By the year 1975, white flight had ran its course on the southeast side and now Puerto Rican and Mexican people were moving out of this area as well. By 1975, southeast Back of the Yards was almost entirely a black community and the gang that walked these streets was the Cobrastones that Hardwick says had up to 150 members by then. Latin Souls completely left the 55^th and Halsted area leaving it to the Cobrastones. Latin Souls would venture north and west settling in the southwest side and more north as north as 48^th Street. When the Latin Souls moved their conflicts with the Saints worsened much more. White flight out the southwest side and northern Back of the Yards was much slower in these years and these areas remained mostly white in the mid-70s but most of the white gangs became extinct or became retired older guys that could be found drinking at the bars. Southwest Back of the Yards white residents were becoming increasingly discouraged by their West Englewood neighbors by the mid-70s as West Englewood had some completely racially changed from being a majority white community to now becoming almost completely African American. Black P Stones continued to be an enemy of white gangs like the Gaylords on the southwest side but many Gaylords began becoming addicted to heroin.

In the later 70s, Saints and Latin Souls were the big gangs of the majority of the Back of the Yards while Cobras ruled southeast. As of 1977, the Cobrastones left the Black P Stones, completely severing ties. When this happened Cobrastones became either King Cobras or Mickey Cobras; however, they were both basically part of the Mickey Cobras gang. The Cobras of the Back of the Yards in Moe Town were claiming “King Cobras” because of their roots but were actually Mickey Cobras; therefore, Mickey Cobras get credit as early pioneers in the Back of the Yards and the first African American gang in the community. By the late 70s whites were no longer moving into the Back of the Yards for the most part, instead the long-time white residents were looking to move out and as they moved out of the north side and southwest Hispanics moved in.

In comparing 1979 to 1980, Back of the Yards had changed like night and day between those two years. In the southwest, from Racine Avenue to the tracks west of Leavitt Street and from 51^st to 55^th white residents proceeded with rapid white flight as now both Hispanic and African Americans poured into this area. The Gaylords street gang that once dominated this area was reduced to a small clique by 1980 that befriended the notorious Bishops street gang that moved here alongside Mexican families relocating from Pilsen. The Gaylords would not see much of the 80s before most of their gang migrated out of the community and left gang life or some joined the ranks of the Bishops. The Latin Kings now established an official section in the southwest at 51^st Street and Ada Street. Both of these gangs came alongside Hispanic migration from the Pilsen area and these clubs represented protection for Hispanic youths from outside gangs. Both gangs arrived in the year 1980 which was a pivotal year for gang growth in the Back of the Yards along with heavy white flight and heavy migration of Hispanic people. Sherman Park area was once the land of the Gaylords but beginning in 1980 African Americans now lived in this area as the majority and came here fast. The Black P Stones settled in the southwest near Latin Kings, Bishops and Latin Souls and began major recruitment for African American youths dealing with gang issues and racial issues. Latin Souls had already migrated onto these streets in 1975 and did not take kindly to all these new gangs moving into their territory. This brought gang and racial conflict but Latin Kings and Black P Stones teamed up against the Latin Souls. Latin Souls were getting hit hard in all their territories and were surrounded by enemies making for a difficult existence but north of 51^st Street Latin Souls would make new friends.

I was astonished to hear several testimonials and stories from people from the Back of the Yards tell me that 1980 was the origin point of one gang after another. This coincides with an overall migration change Chicago was experiencing around 1980. This was also a time when our justice system was handing out early parole to thousands of convicts simultaneously which included gang members. According to Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research in June of 1988, over 1,600 prison inmates were released from Illinois prisons between 1979-1982 due to prison overcrowding. This caused over two thirds of releases made during these years as early releases to ease overcrowding (Fact source: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/115301NCJRS.pdf). This is one of the causes of the sudden explosion of new street gangs in the Back of the Yards simultaneously in 1980. The Saints and Latin Souls were still the big clubs in 1980 and these groups especially dominated north of 51^st Street. A nasty gang conflict developed along 51^st Street because Bishops initially arrived closer to 51^st before they moved to 53^rd Street. Black P Stones, Mickey Cobras, Latin Kings, and Latin Souls were all situated alongside this border but once Two Two Boys and Satan Disciples settled at the intersection of 51^st Street and Wood Street in 1980 the gang war exploded. Latin Souls teamed up with Two Two Boys and Satan Disciples and all these mobs became Folks alliance as they battled Latin Kings, Black P Stones, Mickey Cobras, Saints and Bishops together. Black P Stones, Mickey Cobras, Latin Kings and Bishops all joined the People alliance and went against the Folks. At the edge of Saint’s main stronghold, the Two Six gang moved to 47^th and Damen to heavily challenge Saints as of 1980 and the Two Six would join the Folks.

An overwhelming amount of gang violence very quickly escalated in the early 80s because of this new migration wave and white flight became very rapid north of 51^st Street causing devastating change that economically drained this community during one of our nation’s worst recessions. Poverty and joblessness settled in that especially damaged south of 51^st Street that was now a majority African American area. Slumlords purchased once beautiful homes that a long-time family once lived in and converted them into apartments for the poor as they neglected the properties. Many Hispanic families became home owners north of 51^st and many of these landlords up that way had better standards; therefore, urban blight did not sweep from 51^st up to Pershing. Landlords felt less motivation to be responsible south of 51^st Street because that area of the Yards was close to Englewood and redlined heavier by banks than north of 51^st Street. This was always a financial war against the impoverished black community that banks played. Southern Back of the Yards became heavily blighted with crumbling buildings, abandoned buildings then eventually vacant lots once they buildings deteriorated severely and were razed. Southern Back of the Yards has an Englewood appearance and some have considered it Englewood at times.

The early 80s was also a time of party crews in the Back of the Yards. These groups were mostly forming north of 51^st Street and were almost completely Hispanic groups. Crews like the D-Boys, Latin Taste, Latin Touch Boys and the Nightcrew were examples of party crews. The party crew culture of the Back of the Yards was seemingly initiated by the Party Players, a crew that formed in the Little Village area in the later 70s that now migrated to the Back of the Yards. Many Hispanic families were moving from Little Village and Pilsen areas during this time. Many youths were already attached to gangs from their old neighborhoods. Latin Kings and Bishops hailed from the Pilsen area while Two Six, Two Two Boys and Satan Disciples hailed from the Little Village area like the Party Players. Many youths wanted an easier existence in this new hood and did not want to succumb to the pressure of joining street gangs in their new surrounding; therefore, they put together crews of neutral youths that moved in numbers so they were less likely to be harassed by actual gangs. They also moved in numbers so they could throw parties and exert control of the parties so neighborhood gangs would not crash the parties and take over. Sometimes party crews used force and violence to achieve their existence but they also specialized in diplomacy that street gangs often lacked. Many times party crew members were better students and came from two income parent households which diverted them away from crime…initially. Some crews were more violent than others and more like gangs because they had too much pride to allow the street gangs so much dominance. The Party Players were one such crew that had little tolerance for gang domination and the Saints were the gang that gave them the most problems. The Two Six gang was one of the smaller migrating gangs in the early 80s and they began to admire the Party Players for their courage and teamed up with them against Latin Kings and Saints. The Two Sixs had the guns while the Party Players had the numbers. By the year 1982, the Party Players were no longer a party crew and became an official gang allied with Two Six.

Two other party crews that formed in 1980 rose to becoming more than just crews. One of those crews was the City Knights that formed in the same area as Two Six, Party Players and Saints. The City Knights were another fun loving party crew but once they felt attacked by Latin Kings and Saints they reacted violently which enhanced their reputation as one of the harder party crews to join, like the Party Players, the City Knights were headed for official gang status. Another party crew that was a down crew formed east of Ashland Avenue in an area in northern Back of the Yards known for a larger concentration of Hispanics for decades. These streets of 47^th and 48^th Streets around Laflin Street was once the home of a Mexican street gang that turned Villa Lobos in the later 60s. These Villa Lobos fought the Settlement heavily until both groups were extinct by the mid-70s. Now this area was the land of the 48^th Street Boys, a party crew of young guys with guns and not afraid to use them. The 48^th Street Boys were just a crew and classified as such but once provoked they acted like a gang. Satan Disciples admired City Knights, Two Six admired the Party Players while the 48^th Street Boys were admired by the La Raza gang from Pilsen, it was just a matter of time before these kids would turn into sawed off gangsters.

In the year 1985, the gang violence had rocked Back of the Yards heavily and bodies were now showing up dead on the streets. The first leader of the Bishops’ head was almost completely blown off by rival gangs in 1982. Members of the King Cobras (Mickey Cobras) were shot to death at 54^th and Bishop during a war with EL Rukns. The 48^th Street Boys were now flipped by the notorious La Raza gang from Pilsen which established the notorious 48^th Street La Raza. Party Players became a full on gang by 1982 but the City Knights remained a crazy party crew.

By the mid-80s, the Latin Souls began moving away from south of 51^st Street area and moved north as the war against both Latin Kings and Black P Stones took a toll. Black P Stones were becoming very powerful in the mid-80s and were soon to outnumber the Cobras that still claimed “Moe Town.” The last of the white population south of 51^st left in the early 80s making this area completely Hispanic and African American.

In the late 80s gang wars worsened and the drug trade became increasingly pronounced. The drug trade caused some unlikely alliances as Party Players, Latin Kings and Saints teamed up as Party Players entered the People alliance in the late 80s while Saints obtained People alliance membership for a few years as well. City Knight would join the Folks by the end of the 80s and converted into a full fledged gang. After Charles Harwick went to prison for a long time starting in 1987 the Mickey Cobras from the southeast began to fade heavily and Black P Stones moved into the southeast taking over the area. In the year 1990, the Jet Blackstones took over the southeast and their most prominent member, the son of the Black P Stone founder, Wakeeta Fort converted this area into “Moe Town” once again but this time Moe Town referred to Black P Stones not Cobras. The new Moe Town was deep in southern Back of the Yards by the early 90s that stretched Paulina Street to Wallace Street and 51^st Street to 55^th Street and into Englewood down to 57^th. The Moe Town Black P Stones became the largest African American gang Back of the Yards had ever experienced.

Two Two Boys left in the early 90s due to a war with Satan Disciples as both gangs could no longer exist at one street corner. The Satan Disciples were dominant at 51^st and Wood and Two Two Boys were removed in a very short time. Bishops would live in through the 90s but weakened over time until they left the area by the 2000s. Two Six has always remained in the Back of the Yards but they do not appear to be growing or shrinking. Satan Disciples have retained their presence in the Yards and have had some growth over time. Saints continued to grow heavily in the 1990s and into the 2000s and they continue to exercise dominance north of 51^st Street. Latin Souls have heavily faded from the area and may still have a small presence but starting in the 2000s they lost most of their territory. City Knights and Party Players mostly left the Yards in the later 2000s and have moved on to pursuits in other parts of the city or in other cities or towns. The Mickey Cobras have become a small outfit in the Yards mainly over by 51^st and May. Conservative Vice Lords moved and Gangster Disciples moved to the old neighborhood the Bishops once ruled in the far southwest section from Cornell Square Park to 55^th Street. This area became African American as of the 2000s which is another reason Bishops moved away making room for African American gangs. The Gangster Disciples have since grown into a major force in the Back of the Yards.

Presently, southern Back of the Yards has become heavily blighted with several vacant lots. Gangster Disciples, Satan Disciples and Black P Stones rule south of 51^st Street while Saints and La Raza rule north of 51^st and Two Six still has a significant presence in the area. The Saint and La Raza war has made the news several times as both gangs are equally violent and dominating.

The Back of the Yards is a livable community but one must understand there is a long term heavy gang presence that may never leave the area.

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In the 1950s Back of the Yards was dominated by the Rebels

In the 1960s Back of the Yards was dominated by the Saints and a combination of many white gangs

In the 1970s Back of the Yards was dominated by Saints, Latin Souls, Gaylords, and Mickey Cobras

In the 1980s Back of the Yards was dominated by Saints, Latin Souls and Black P Stones

In the 1990s Back of the Yards was dominated by Saints, Latin Souls, Black P Stones, Satan Disciples, La Raza, and Two Six

In the 2000s up to present Back of the Yards has been dominated by Saints, La Raza, Black P Stones, and Gangster Disciples.

Here is the list and locations of the major Back of the Yards gangs since the 1960s:

Black P Stones Established 1980-present years

Overall – 51^st to 55^th, Paulina to Wallace is Moe Town

53^rd to 55^th, Ashland to Laflin (L-Station SODMG Moe Town, Former Rubenite Stones 55^th and Ashland)

50^th to 52^nd, Racine to Aberdeen (Folly Boyz Moe Town)

54^th to 55^th, Bishop to Loomis (Back Block Moe Town)

Morgan from 52^nd to 54^th (D Block Moe Town)

52^nd to 53^rd, Sangamon to Peoria (KTC Moe Town)

52^nd to 53^rd, Green to Halsted (GCE Moe Town)

51^st to 55^th, Ashland to Union (Moe Town)

51^st & Lowe (Jets)

Halsted from 53rd to 54^th (Jets)

51^st to 53^rd, Union to Wallace (Low Life Moe Town)

Bishops Established 1980-2000s

51^st to 55^th, Wolcott to the tracks west of Leavitt Street

Gaylords Established 1966-early 80s

53^st to 55^th, Ashland to Racine

Latin Counts

48^th & Morgan

Saints Established 1959-present years

43^rd to 47^th, Damen to Ashland (Halo City, Heaven, Psycho Side, De La Wood) Established 1959-present years

48^th & Paulina

Party Players Established 1977-present years

48^th & Wolcott Established 1982 (Player Town)

48^th & Racine Established 1977-1982

48^th & Wood

Latin Kings Established 1980-2010s

51^st to 53^rd, Ashland to Racine (51^st & Ada)

Two Six Established 1980-present years

47^th to 51^st, Hoyne to Winchester (Damen Two Six) Established 1980-present years

City Knights Established 1980-2010s

47^th & Rockwell Established 2000

48^th & Wood Established 1980 (Valley of Death)

Satan Disciples Established 1980-present years

51^st to 53^rd, Leavitt to Wood (51^st & Wood, presently more north of 51st)

48th to 51st, Leavitt to Wood (present years)

Two Two Boys Established 1980-1992

51^st & Wood (Shared with the Satan Disciples) Established 1980-1992

La Raza Established 1985-present years

47^th to 49^th, Ashland to Racine (48^th Side) Established 1980 as 48^th Street Boys, 1985 as La Raza

50^th & Hoyne

Mickey Cobras Established 1971-1990

51^st to 55^th, Racine to Wallace

51^st & May (still active)

Gangster Disciples

Overall-51st to 55th, Leavitt to Ashland

Honore from 51^st to 53^rd (LOC GDs)

51^st & Hoyne (HSGs)

51st to 55th, Hoyne to Damen (Damenville)

51st to 52nd, Wood to Paulina (LOC City)

Wood from 54th to 55th (QMB)

50th to 51st, Morgan to Halsted (50 Strong OBE)

53^rd & Union (Rag Town)

55^th & Emerald (Rag Town)

Latin Souls Established 1971-present years

48^th to 51^th, Wolcott to Marshfield (Chief Town, Murderfield) 1975-mid-80s

55^th & Halsted Established 1962 as Village Sharks, 1966 as Emerald Knights, closed late 70s

55^th & Racine (Sherman Park)

Spanish Gangster Disciples

47^th & Wolcott

Stone Kents

51^st & Ada (as Stone Kents shared with Latin Kings)

Villa Lobos Established 1966-1970s

47th Street somewhere

Conservative Vice Lords

54^th to 55^th, Winchester to Wolcott (Tytoland)

51^st& Laflin

All images below are of vacant buildings at the time of the photo.  All photos are courtesy of Google Maps