Gangster Disciples
Founding location U.S.
Years active Late 1960s – To 4ever in this sh!dd
Territory Nationwide
Ethnicity African American
Membership 500,000+ Worldwide est 200,000+ County Wide
50,000+ in Chicago[1]
Criminal activities Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder
Allies Folk Nation, Crips, Zoe Pound Gang, Black Guerilla Family, Black Mafia Family
Rivals People Nation, Black P.Stones, Vice Lords, Bloods, Black Disciples (sometimes)


The Black Gangster Disciple Nation is a gang which was formed on the South Side of Chicago in the late 1960s, by David Barksdale, leader of the Devil Disciples, and Larry Hoover, leader of the Supreme Gangsters. The two groups united to form the Black Gangster Disciple Nation (BGDN). This group would eventually split into three separate factions under the Folk Nation, while Hoover's group would eventually drop the "B" and became known as Gangster Disciples. Those loyal to Jerome Freeman after Barksdale's death would drop the "G" and became known only as the Black Disciples and finally those loyal to George Davis would drop the "D" and become known only as the Black Gangsters, commonly referred to as "New Breeds".
The Gangster Disciples has a hierarchy modeled after the Chicago Outfit that is still in use today. Many federal crimes are committed by the organization; this along with many other factors has made it possible for law enforcement officers to enact RICO in order to take down high-ranking members.
The gang has made several attempts to legitimize their image. 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. Outside of Chicago some gangs will still go by the old name of BGD.[2]
Gangster Disciples have been documented in the U.S. military, found in both U.S. and overseas bases.[3] 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.

Colors/apparel

Gangster Disciples "represent" with the colors blue and black, but rarely flag colors in today's society unless a ceremony is in place or rival gang is near. Despite what many gang experts believe, the Gangster Disciples and many folk-based organizations tend to shy away from colors and use breaking to identify one another instead. Breaking refers to pointing the brim of ones hat to the right or left, and/or having earrings place in the right or left ear alone. While the folk nation breaks to the right, the people nation oppositely breaks to the left no matter the colors. [4][full citation needed][page needed] 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, and wisdom (respect). 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 have 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.[5]
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.