New book profiles the Black P. Stones gang in Chicago

New book profiles the Black P. Stones gang in Chicago
A new book looks at one of Chicago's most storied and violent gangs: The Almight Black P Stone Nation. Getty/file
New book profiles the Black P. Stones gang in Chicago
A new book looks at one of Chicago's most storied and violent gangs: The Almight Black P Stone Nation. Getty/file

New book profiles the Black P. Stones gang in Chicago

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In the 1960s the Blackstone Rangers—later known as the Almighty Black P Stone Nation—dominated Chicago’s South Side. The street gang was something of a paradox - a mix of both legal and illegal activity. They managed to attract federal funding for social work but they also engaged in shakedowns and other acts of violence. These two sides of the gang would eventually come into conflict and send Black Stone leader Jeff Fort to his first of many prison stays. Fort remains in prison today but the legend and legacy of his gang continue.

The new book The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang is an effort to delve into that legacy. Eight Forty-Eight’s Alison Cuddy sat down with its co-authors, gang expert Lance Williams and WBEZ’s South Side reporter Natalie Moore.

Williams and Moore will be at 57th Street Books in Hyde ParkThursday evening for a book signing.

Music Button: Barrett Martin, “The City Slithers”, from the CD The Painted Desert, (Fast Horse Recordings)