Black Guerrilla Family

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The charismatic George Jackson founded the Black Guerrilla Family in 1966 at San Quentin State Prison in northern California. The letters "B-G-F," the associated digits 2-7-6, a crossed machete and rifle, or a black dragon mounting a San Quentin prison tower are among its distinctive tattoos and emblems. It's the most political of California's four major prison gangs, with a stated objective of overthrowing the US government. The gang has an odd mix of allies and followers because of its revolutionary aims.

Even the B.G.F.'s natural opponents, the Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood, have come to its aid on occasion. The American Indian Movement, the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Weather Underground, Tribal Thumb, the Red Guerrilla Family, the Chicano Liberation Front, the United Prisoners Union, the Venceremos Organization, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Prison Law Collective are among its supporters.

George Jackson, a former Black Panther and great orator who united inmates by preaching about the system's injustice to prisoners, particularly black inmates, created the gang. He thought the Black Panthers were too radical and didn't adequately represent imprisoned black males. He promised to form an organization that would care for his imprisoned people as if they were family and would be a forerunner in the coming revolt against the US government.

Originally, the organization was known as the Family or the Black Family. It was also known as the Black Foco and the Black Vanguard. The B.G.F.'s constitution, which is based on a paramilitary hierarchical system and Marxist-Maoist ideologies, was drafted with the help of lawyers and paralegals from the National Lawyers Guild. Many of B.G.F.'s communication channels use Swahili, and all of the gang's leaders have Swahili names in addition to their real names and gang monikers. At the time of initiation into the prison gang, the B.G.F. oath (see above) had to be memorized and pronounced.

Jackson was shot by a prison officer while attempting to flee San Quentin on Aug. 21, 1971. The weapons used by Jackson and Mexican Mafia associates Louie Lopez and Luis Talamantes, who killed jail guards during the incident, were allegedly brought in by a lawyer. "George Jackson," a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, glorifies the BGF founder and his violent attempt to flee the country.

Doc Holiday, a former leader of the Symbionese Liberation Army, was appointed as the next supreme commander. The B.G.F. had selected an astute and clever fighter to head it once more. The B.G.F. developed in strength and numbers under Doc's leadership, drawing on the legions of Crips and Bloods imprisoned in the 1980s. The gang had two factions: a revolutionary militant faction and a criminal part that sought personal financial gain while remaining committed to the revolutionary cause.

Otis "Jitu Sadiki" Smith and Ronald "Red" Burton in Southern California; Michael Stover, James, and Harold Benson in the Bay Area; Romain Fitzgerald in Soledad; and Shaun Garland in Pelican Bay grew in opposition to the acknowledged BGF leaders. In 1978, at Deuel Vocational Institute, a new faction called the Vanguard formed to oppose revolutionary politics and the brutal means utilized by the B.G.F. to purge its ranks. Several were members of the hardcore Crip gang who believed the B.G.F. favored the Bloods. In 1979, they declared war on the B.G.F. at Folsom Prison. In 1981, the B.G.F. moved against the Vanguard, killing one and injuring several others. Henry "Sugar Bear" Wilds and Michael Doroiugh are identified as Vanguard leaders and have attempted to reorganize.

Although the Black Guerrilla Family is mainly active within Baltimore, the family itself is still active across several states within America, especially California.

News articles of BGF members:

Black Guerilla Family Member Is Baltimore’s Public Enemy #1

Police believe New York City cop killer was a member of the Black Guerrilla Family: sources

Warning issued for prison guards, officers about possible attacks from 'Black Guerilla Family'

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