The Almighty Insane Popes Nation is a

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

, formed in the late 1950s on the north side of

, primarily building membership from a Greek greaser gang that hung out at the corner of Lawrence and Rockwell. This small group had problems with the much larger Latin Kings gang on the north side, and so they began to associate with the Almighty Simon City Royals in an attempt to protect themselves. However, rather than joining the Royals outright, they eventually decided to form their own gang, which they named the Popes: this stood for "Protecting Our People Eliminating Spics" (eventually the racial slur would be replaced by "scum" when the Popes ceased to be a racist gang and began inviting Latinos and African Americans to join).

Expansion

By the mid 1970s the Popes' main membership consisted of many Poles from the Albany Park/Lincoln Square neighborhood, and German, Irish, and Scandinavians in the Portage Park, Jefferson Park, and Mayfair neighborhoods. At their peak in the mid-1960s to early 1970s, they had 300–500 members. In the 1980s, news reports indicated that some members were the children of

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firefighters and

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officers.

South Side Almighty Insane Popes

In the mid 1970s, some accounts claim the nation leader, Larry "Larkin" Morris, started a new branch on the south side. In 1975, Larkin was killed by members of the Almighty Gaylords. The north side Insane Popes formed even stronger alliance with the

Simon City Royals The Simon City Royals, also known as the Almighty Simon City Royal Nation, are a street and prison gang which began in Chicago during 1952 as Simon City, a greaser gang. They named themselves for Simons Park, which is located on the corner o ...

, and called this “DAB”. The Royals joined the Folks Nation, and the Almighty Insane Popes Nation eventually did also. However, the south side branch, who hated the Satan Disciples and Two-Six gangs who were Folks Nation members, became a renegade faction, even going so far as to join the rival

People Nation The People Nation is an American alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals of the Folk Nation alliance of gangs. Formation In 1978, Mickey Cogwell and Jeff Fort (now Black P. Stones), Vice Lords and ...

alliance and severing ties completely with the north side Almighty Insane Popes Nation.

Modern day

Today the North Side Popes' main rivals are the Latin Kings, and the South Side Popes' main rivals are the

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 ...

, Satan Disciples, and Gangster Two-Six. As of 2022, the South Side Popes have active territory in McKinley Park, Vittum Park, and Mt. Greenwood. The North Side Popes remain allied with the Folk Nation, while the south side Popes remain allied with the People Nation. South Side Popes wear

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

apparel or black and white and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

hats. North Side Popes wear baby-blue and black, showing allegiance to the Royals with whom they retain close ties.

References

External links

Insane Popes - Larkin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popes Organizations established in the 1950s 1950s establishments in Illinois Folk Nation Street gangs European-American gangs Gangs in Chicago European-American culture in Chicago Racially motivated violence against Hispanic and Latino Americans

Expansion

South Side Almighty Insane Popes

Modern day

See also

References

External links