cole phelps
Superstar
In Huntington Park, Bell, and South Gate, towns that were predominately white, teenagers formed some of the early street clubs during the 1940s. One of the most infamous clubs of that time was the Spook Hunters, a group of white teenagers that often attacked black youths. If blacks were seen outside of the black settlement area, which was roughly bounded by Slauson to the South, Alameda Avenue to the east, and Main[5] Street to the west, they were often attacked. The name of this club emphasized their racist attitude towards blacks, as Spook Hunters is a derogatory term used to identify blacks and ?Hunters? highlighted their desire to attack blacks as their method of fighting integration and promoting residential segregation. Their animosity towards blacks was publicly known; the back of their club jackets displayed an animated black face with exaggerated facial features and a noose hanging around the neck. The Spook Hunters would often cross Alameda traveling west to violently attack black youths from the area. In Thrasher’s study of Chicago gangs, he observed a similar
white gang in Chicago during the 1920s, the Dirty Dozens, who often attacked black youths with knives,
blackjacks, and revolvers because of racial differences (Thrasher 1963:37). Raymond Wright was one of the founders of a black club called the Businessmen, a large East side club based at South Park between Slauson Avenue and Vernon Avenue. He stated that, “you couldn’t pass Alameda, because those white boys in South Gate would set you on fire,[6] and fear of attack among black youths was not, surprisingly, common. In 1941, white students at Fremont High School threatened blacks by burning them in effigy and displaying posters saying,we want no ******s at this school? . There were racial confrontations at Manual Arts High School on Vermont and 42nd Street, and at Adams High School during the 1940s ). In 1943, conflicts between blacks and whites occurred at 5th and San Pedro Streets, resulting in a riot on Central Avenue . white clubs in Inglewood, Gardena, and on the West side engaged in similar acts, but the Spook Hunters were the most violent of all white clubs in Los Angeles.
However, those attacks did not go unanswered. In almost no time, blacks formed their own gangs and Americans of Mexican descent formed their own. Then they went about the business of defending themselves and their communities from the whites who were out to get them, and they also carried out retaliatory strikes on various all-white communities.
To make a long story short, by the early 1950s, the white-racist groups had ceased to carry out attacks against blacks and Hispanics. In fact, by that time, they never came anywhere near a black or Hispanic community and always did every thing they could to avoid getting into “rumbles” with the blacks and browns. Things had reached the point where those whites were downright afraid of the people they had been knocking around and bashing just a short time before.
The black youths in Aliso Village, a housing project in East Los Angeles, started a club called the Devil Hunters in response to the Spook Hunters and other white clubs that were engaging in violent confrontations with blacks. The term “Devil” reflected how blacks viewed racist whites and Ku Klux Klan members. The Devil Hunters and other black residents fought back against white violence with their own form of violence. In 1944, nearly 100 frustrated black youths, who were denied jobs on the city?s streetcar system, attacked a passing streetcar and assaulted several white passengers . During the late 1940s and early 1950s, other neighborhood clubs emerged to fight the white establishment. Members of the Businessmen and other black clubs had several encounters with the Spook Hunters and other white clubs of the time.
white gang in Chicago during the 1920s, the Dirty Dozens, who often attacked black youths with knives,
blackjacks, and revolvers because of racial differences (Thrasher 1963:37). Raymond Wright was one of the founders of a black club called the Businessmen, a large East side club based at South Park between Slauson Avenue and Vernon Avenue. He stated that, “you couldn’t pass Alameda, because those white boys in South Gate would set you on fire,[6] and fear of attack among black youths was not, surprisingly, common. In 1941, white students at Fremont High School threatened blacks by burning them in effigy and displaying posters saying,we want no ******s at this school? . There were racial confrontations at Manual Arts High School on Vermont and 42nd Street, and at Adams High School during the 1940s ). In 1943, conflicts between blacks and whites occurred at 5th and San Pedro Streets, resulting in a riot on Central Avenue . white clubs in Inglewood, Gardena, and on the West side engaged in similar acts, but the Spook Hunters were the most violent of all white clubs in Los Angeles.
However, those attacks did not go unanswered. In almost no time, blacks formed their own gangs and Americans of Mexican descent formed their own. Then they went about the business of defending themselves and their communities from the whites who were out to get them, and they also carried out retaliatory strikes on various all-white communities.
To make a long story short, by the early 1950s, the white-racist groups had ceased to carry out attacks against blacks and Hispanics. In fact, by that time, they never came anywhere near a black or Hispanic community and always did every thing they could to avoid getting into “rumbles” with the blacks and browns. Things had reached the point where those whites were downright afraid of the people they had been knocking around and bashing just a short time before.
The black youths in Aliso Village, a housing project in East Los Angeles, started a club called the Devil Hunters in response to the Spook Hunters and other white clubs that were engaging in violent confrontations with blacks. The term “Devil” reflected how blacks viewed racist whites and Ku Klux Klan members. The Devil Hunters and other black residents fought back against white violence with their own form of violence. In 1944, nearly 100 frustrated black youths, who were denied jobs on the city?s streetcar system, attacked a passing streetcar and assaulted several white passengers . During the late 1940s and early 1950s, other neighborhood clubs emerged to fight the white establishment. Members of the Businessmen and other black clubs had several encounters with the Spook Hunters and other white clubs of the time.
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