The Nation was born from an idea of
Larry Hoover, who was, and still is to some degree, the
chairman of the Gangster Disciple Nation. Hoover,
at that time, was serving time (200 years) in the
Illinois Department of Corrections but, through
telephone calls, visitors, attorneys, and written
correspondence, he managed to maintain control of the
Gangster Disciples and eventually the Folk Nation.
Hoover envisioned himself as the ultimate leader, the king, of all of the Chicago area gangs as well as the gangs in the Illinois penal system.
Hoover is currently serving his sentence at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons maximum security facility in Florence, Colorado.
Some of the gangs that are known to align with The Folk Nation are:
- C-Notes
- Harrison Gents
- Gangster Disciples
- Maniac Latin Disciples
- La Raza
- Two Sixers
- Satan Disciples
- Imperial Gangsters
- Simon City Royals
- Latin Lovers
In the Chicago area, the Folk Nation and the Gangster Disciples are generally thought of as one and the same.
There is a bitter rivalry between the Folk Nation and the People Nation.
People Nation
Gangs in Chicago that did not want to be under the control of Hoover, banded together and formed the People Nation; partly for their self protection but mostly to maintain control of their share of the drug sales and other criminal activities. Like the Bloods and the Crips of Los Angeles, the Folk and People Nations are bitter rivals in most instances.
Some of the gangs that align with the People Nation are:
- El Rukns - See Black P Stone link
- Latin Saints
- Latin Kings - Almighty Latin Kings; Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation
- Black P Stones
- Mickey Cobras
- Gay Lords
- Vice Lords - All sets will have Vice Lord in the name
- Spanish Lords
- Pachucos
Within the Folk and People Nations alliances, the individual gangs have their own unique colors, hand signs, alphabets, or codes. They show their allegiance to their allies as well as their rivals by "representing" through symbols, colors, graffiti, hand signs and slang words.
Members of both Nations also demonstrate their
affiliation by indicators on the left or right
side of the body. A member of the Folk Nation will
usually wear his colors on the right side of the body,
will wear a cap tilted to the right or he may roll up
his right pants leg. Members of the People Nation
may demonstrate their affiliation from the left side of
the body. The color blue is generally associated
with the Folks Nation, while red is the color of choice
for the People Nation.
Although every effort is made to provide correct information, gangs are forever changing. Over the years, gangs that do not follow the historical aspects of the nations and of the traditional gangs, have formed. These gangs are known as hybrid gangs, and even though their gang name may that of a well known traditional gang, they have been known to wear colors, or use signs and symbols of a rival gang.
The symbols shown here are representative of the two nations
Gang Codes and Alphabets
Over the years, many gangs have developed various forms of codes and alphabets to enable them to communicate "secretly" with other members. Below is one such example of a Folks Nation code. It is frequently referred to as the 123-ABC code. Beside each letter of the alphabet there are terms which may also be used to form words.
To encode the words Folks Nation using the 123-ABC, it would appear as 6-15-12-11-19 14-1-20-9-15-14
Using the terms to write Folks Nation, it would appear as Father-One-Love-Kingdom-Self Nation-Allah-True-Islam-One-Nation.
Other Terms and Codes
