The Folk Nation is an alliance of

street gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

originating in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, established in 1978. The alliance has since spread throughout the United States, particularly the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Formation

The Folk Nation was formed on November 11, 1978, within the confines of the Stateville Correctional Center. Larry Hoover, the chairman of the Gangster Disciple Nation, created the idea for the alliance and persuaded many leaders of large black, white, and Latino gangs from Chicago to join. Folk Nation was created to protect and counter from People Nation invading neighborhoods.

Symbols

All gangs that are members of the Folk Nation represent their allegiance by utilization of the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

, the digit 6, the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...

VI, and a die with six dots visible. Most gangs under the ''Disciple'' moniker use horns, a devil's tail, a pitchfork, a horned heart, and a winged heart. Other prominent symbolism of Folk gangs include the digit 2 (used by the Insane Deuce Nation and Insane Two-Two Nation), the digit 3, three dots, a symbol known as the Third World (digit 3 within a circle with a horizontal curved line through the center) representing the power, solidarity and ubiquity of the third world proletariat, the digit 4 (used by Insane Two-Two Nation and the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation), the digit 7 (used by the Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation), the digit 8 (used by the Insane Ashland Viking Nation), the number 13 (used by the Milwaukee King Nation), the Playboy bunny (used by all Gangster Familia nations excluding the Gangster Disciple Nation along with the Boss Pimp Nation), a cane (used by the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation and the Latin Jiver Nation), a top hat (used by the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation and the Latin Jiver Nation), a crown with seven rounded steps (used by Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation, sometimes the Gangster Disciple Nation), a six point crown (represents entire Folk Nation though modern usage is typically by the Insane Gangster Satan Disciple Nation), numerous cross variants, and the number 360, "360°" or phrase "360 degrees", usually used to refer to their international presence (360 degrees around the globe) though it has other meanings within Folk literature. Folk gangs also disrespect People Nation gangs by inverting or "cracking" (adding crack marks to or removing half of a gang symbol) their symbols.

Affiliated gangs

Some of the affiliated gangs include: * Almighty Insane Pope Nation * Almighty Latin Eagle NationPeople and Folk Nation Sets (continued) - Gang and Security Threat Group Awareness
archived fro

on August 6, 2008. Accessed March 19, 2019. * Almighty Simon City Royal NationLadd, Donna (April 5, 2018
Dangerous, Growing, Yet Unnoticed: The Rise of America's White Gangs
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Retrieved June 11, 2023. * Gangster Disciple Nation *

Spanish Cobras The Spanish Cobras is a primarily (but not exclusively) Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino street gang, present in multiple states throughout the Midwestern United States, with a strong presence on the north and west sides of Chicago, Illino ...

* Maniac Latin Disciple Nation * Black Disciples *

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

La Raza Nation La Raza Nation is a street gang founded in Chicago in 1973. Their colors are green, white, and red (same as the Mexican flag). Their symbols include the Mexican flag, cross, and a six-point star. Relations with other gangs Although La Raza Nat ...

* Spanish Gangster Disciples * Tiny Rascal Gang (in Michigan) https://www.gvsu.edu/cms4/asset/903124DF-BD7F-3286-FE3330AA44F994DE/street_gangs_in_the_greater_holland_area.pdf

References

{{Organized crime groups in Chicago Organizations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Illinois Street gangs Gangs in Chicago Coalitions