8f Black Gangster Disciples

Black Gangster Disciples

  • South Side of Chicago 1960’s
  • Form by David Barksdale (Black Disciples) and Larry Hoover
  • Changed to “Growth and Development” in efforts to legitimize their group
  • Most sets outside Chicago still call themselves BGD
  • Brothers of the Strong Struggle (BOSS)
  • Found in all 50 states and the Military including bases in Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Symbol: Star of David (Six pointed star)
  • Colors: Black and Blue
  • Duke Blue Devils
  • Symbol: Pair of pitchforks
  • Their leader is known as the “Chairman of the Board”


Larry Hoover


The Black Gangster Disciple Nation was formed on the South-side of Chicago in the late 1960s, by

David Barksdale, leader of the Gonzanto Disciples, and Larry Hoover, leader of the Supreme Disciples. The two groups united to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation (BGDN).

David Barksdale became the leader of BGDN and Hoover became his second in command. Barksdale died in 1972 and Hoover took over the leadership position. After Barksdale's death, Jerome Freeman, who was loyal to Barksdale and never wanted the two groups to unite in the first place, established a parallel leadership position to Hoover. As a result of this split, two distinct groups emerged within the BGDN. Freeman formed a street gang which calls itself Black Disciples or BDs, while Hoover renamed his gang the Black Gangster Disciples or BGDs.

These two gangs have at times been bitter rivals. The Black Disciples have remained relatively small in numbers, and have not branched out like the BGDs.

David Barksdale

The BGD are presence throughout the United States. Chicago is the location of their leaders and they have a strong presence in most Midwest cities. The BDG is one of the country's largest criminal organizations. In the mid-1990s a federal task force was formed to investigate the BGD involvement in several murders and drug sales. The government found the gang was making over $100,000,000.00 a year in illegal drug sales. Several high ranking members were convicted and are serving life sentences


The gang has made several attempts to legitimize their image. Some members dropped the "B" and began to call themselves GDs or Gangster Disciples. In the 1990s the Gangster Disciples entered into politics in the Chicago tradition of Black Panthers, Black Stone Rangers, Latin Kings, Vice Lords and Young Lords through the formation of the "Growth and Development" movement. Gangster Disciples began blanketing the city of Chicago attempting to register voters from the inner city. They then "encouraged" the newly registered voters to vote for candidates loyal to their cause. While incarcerated, the Black Gangster Disciples will unite with allied gangs under the guise of the Brothers of Struggle (BOS). The gang continues to be involved in large scale drug trafficking, murders and white-collar crime. Outside of Chicago some gangs will still go by the old name of BGD.



Gangster Disciples have been documented in the U.S. military, found in both U.S. and overseas bases. Graffiti characteristic of the Gangster Disciples has been reportedly seen in U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Symbols, signs and emblems 

Like most major gangs, Gangster Disciples use a well-defined system of symbols to communicate alliances and rivalries. This system is a combination of symbols that represent the Gangster Disciple Nation or the Folk Nation as a whole and symbols that rivals use to represent their organization, typically inverted to show disrespect. BGD is currently the largest gang in Chicago, IL.

Colors/apparel 

Gangster Disciples "represent" with the colors blue, black, grey and white. There are indications that in some very rare and unusual cases, some GD members will adopt what some gang experts and historians refer to as "outlaw" or taboo doctrine, and wear the otherwise-rival Vice Lord color (red) which in a majority of other cases would be counter to the blue, black, grey, and white colors normally associated with GD. Gangster Disciples are known to wear Georgetown Hoyas clothing.

Six pointed star 

The major symbol Gangster Disciples make use of is the six-pointed star (identical in appearance to the Star of David) The fact that this star is known as the Star of David pays homage to co-founder David Barksdale, and the six points are said to represent Love, Life, Loyalty, Understanding , Knowledge , Wisdom . Despite there being no ostensible references to the country of Israel or Jewish religion in most open source literature on the subject of Gangster Disciples, some rival Vice Lord members will at times refer to someone suspected of being an organizational infiltrator, mole, spy, supporter, or sympathizer as being "Jewish." There h  ave been other indications clearly suggesting that many GD members internally have aligned themselves with pseudo-Judaism principles just as rival Vice Lords have aligned themselves with pseudo-Islamic principles which is even further evidenced by the Vice Lord Oath in which Vice lord members swear allegiance to Allah.


The second most well known symbol of the Gangster Disciples is the three pointed pitch fork, which is also the basis of their representative hand-sign. A pair of pitchforks may be seen in GD graffiti crossed behind a six pointed star, with the tines of the fork always placed in a vertical position. Since two forks with three tines each make a total of six, this again makes reference to the six-pointed star. The number six plays prominently into most GD symbols.

Graffiti

Gangster Disciple graffiti is also known to contain:



  • Heart with wings, each wing having 3 feathers (for a total of 6), typically placed around a six-pointed star. Can be used to represent love for lost members of the organization, or members who are incarcerated.
  • Inverted shepherd's cane. The cane is a symbol of the Chicago-based Vice Lords, a powerful faction in the People Nation and a top rival of the Gangster Disciples. The cane can be incorporated into the handle of crossed pitchforks, so that the upward facing half is a fork and the downward pointing half is a cane. This both represents the Gangster Disciple Nation and shows disrespect to the Vice Lords.
  • Inverted pyramid. The pyramid is a Peoples Nation symbol, especially for the Black P Stones.
  • Inverted cross, with hash marks between the bars. Symbol of the Latin Kings (gang).

Tattoos 

Tattoos utilized by the BGD include: a devils tail; a top hat with a staff the top of the staff has a pitch fork with the numbers three, six, zero, and at the bottom is an upside down cross.

Next Section
Share by: