California Department of Corrections once allowed gang colors
By Alex Alonso
Streetgangs.com Staff Writer
September 21, 2012 | 8:01 p.m.
Blood inmates in Soledad Prison, 1988
During the 1980s, the California Department of Corrections allowed African-American gang members to wear their gang colors. Salinas Valley State Prison, also known as Soledad Prison, during the late 1980s was known as a Blood friendly prison allowing them to wear red. Many Bloods that were validated by prison officials were transferred to Soledad after being processed.
Although this may sound counter-productive, allowing gang members to represent their gang, during the height of prison violence was done so to reduce conflict and prison violence, mostly in the form of stabbings.
This photo was taken in 1988 and the Bounty Hunters, Rollin 20s, Neighborhood Pirus and Black P Stones, are represented in the photo. All these gangs were on friendly terms and were incarcerated on a yard isolated from rival inmates. Since rivalries did not exist among these gangs, the prison allowed them to fly their colors because it would not create conflict on a segregated yard.
———————————————————
Alex Alonso is an author, film maker and founder of Streetgangs.com. He is the contributing author in the 2010 book entitled “Black Los Angeles: American Dreams and Racial Realities” (New York University Press). He can be reached via email, at 800-249-1324, or on Twitter.
Posted by alexalonso
on Sep 21 2012. Filed under Features, Photos.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
THASS SOME REAL G SHIT RIGHT THERE BLOOD TOO BAD THAT SHIT DON’T STILL EXIST SUWOOOOOOOOOOP CK
Suwoooooooop
soledad as CTF is known and salinas valley state prison are two separate prisons. soledad (CTF) being the original opened in 1946 and salinas valley state prison being the newer in 1996.
they look like cheerleaders lol
LOL!