With their murderous rabbits, awkward graffiti and awesome nicknames, the business cards handed out by Chicago gang members in the 1970s and 80s are a peek into a violent underworld
Main image: STONED YARDERS The Stoned Yarders were a party crew affiliated with the Almighty Gaylords (as indicated by the crosses with two slashes above) who hung out in Mozart Schoolyard in the West Logan Square area. The graphics are perfect and the names - Weed, Stoner, Buzz, Fry - are fitting. The blackletter style font used is typical, but the blue linen paper is notable. Thee Almighty & Insane: Chicago Gang Business Cards from the 1970s & 1980s [Second Edition] Photograph: Brandon Johnson
Tue 11 Apr 2017 07.00 BST Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 16.03 BST
Thee Almighty & Insane: Chicago Gang Business Cards from the 1970s & 1980s, by Brandon Johnson, catalogues a strange graphic design subculture. ‘This is the first card in my collection,’ he says. ‘I soon discovered this “compliment card” was part of a larger phenomenon, most prevalent during the 1970s and 80s when Chicago street gangs made business cards displaying their symbols, nicknames, territories, and enemies as a means to assert their pride, recruit new members, and serve as general tokens of affiliation.’ The second edition of the book is available to preorderShare on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The slogan says it all. The Villa Lobos were from the Little Village part of South Lawndale. The name translates from Spanish as “Village Wolves”, which makes sense given their location. The Villa Lobos were enemies of Two Six and therefore allies of the Latin Kings, and eventually joined the People Nation – a gang alliance formed in 1978 in response to alliances in the prison system, extending later to the streets. These alliances’ symbols can be found on many cards, including pitchforks, crowns, devil’s horns and tails, 3D pyramids, crescent moons, and five- or six-pointed stars and crowns’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘Who doesn’t love a shiny gold business card? On a design level, it’s a great use of three fonts, including the classic blackletter style found on many of these cards. I rank the word “supreme” highly and the slogan here is devastatingly concise. The Latin Kings were founded in 1953, originating from four groups, the Mexican Kings, Royal Kings, Coulter Kings, and Imperials, that served as protection for Latino youth against bullying by white greaser gangs. The Latin Kings later expanded into an extensive crime syndicate and are now the largest Latino street gang in Chicago’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The Insane Popes originated as a Greek greaser gang. I’ve heard POPES is an acronym with anti-Latino implications, reflecting some of the hostile racial dynamics at the time between whites and Latinos caused by intercity migrations, immigration, and nativism. There’s also an implication of absolute power associated with the head of the Catholic church. This card has unique fonts, and the handwritten “fix” by the Kilbourn Park Gaylords (K/P G/L’s) indicates that the Gaylords murdered the Popes’ President, Larkin, offering some insight into a major event in this gang’s history’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘I believe this translates from Spanish to something like “the Hustlers”. This is a more obscure gang atypically using what I assume are real names rather than nicknames. The hand-drawn ZigZag and Playboy logos are choice graphics’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The Stoned Freaks started in the late 1960s, taking their name from the hippy culture from that time. Notorious for partying, they were based in Hermosa and quickly shifted from a party crew to a full-fledged gang allied with the Latin Kings. The Freaks later allied in the late 1970s with other white gangs such as the Gaylords, C-Notes, and Taylor Jousters to combat the influx of Latino gangs in their neighbourhoods. In my opinion, this card has some of the best nicknames. And with a catchphrase like “Sworn to Fun Loyal to None” their motivations are clear’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The Stoned Yarders were a party crew affiliated with the Almighty Gaylords (as indicated by the crosses with two slashes above), who hung out in Mozart Schoolyard in the West Logan Square area. The graphics are perfect and the names – Weed, Stoner, Buzz, Fry – are fitting. The blackletter font used is typical, but the blue linen paper is notable. The back of this card [below] is a good example of how gang members customised cards by hand – reflecting the graffiti culture at the time. It looks like this card ended up in the hands of the Taylor Jousters, who originated in the near West Side’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The Jousters allied with nearly all other white gangs from 1971-73 as part of the WPO or White Power Organisation. The Jousters then joined the UFO or United Five Organisation consisting of the Gaylords, PVR/PVP, Chi West, and C-Notes from 1973-75. However, the markings on this card are disrespecting both the C-Notes and Simon City Royals, which goes to show that the racial aspect of these gang conflicts gets a little murky and that alliances can be short lived. Along with many other white gangs, the Jousters were greatly outnumbered by the early 1990s and disbanded soon after’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘I like that this card uses the word Chi-Town prominently, one of Chicago’s well-known nicknames. It also has some excellent member nicknames – Shy-Lad (a nod to the pronunciation of Chi-town), Nando, Young Blood, Elvis, Lips, and Little Man. You can also see where the moniker “compliment cards” comes from. The history of the Warlords is a little hazy, but they were known to operate in Bucktown and Wicker Park. Their colours were black and orange, hence the colour of the card. The Warlords ceased activity in 1990’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘This card is a reprint, but I included it because of its balanced design sensibility with excellent hand-drawn graphics. What’s interesting about the symbolism of this card is its rejection of both the powerful People and Folk Nations. Most gangs in Chicago belonged to one or the other, but the C-Notes are saying here that their allegiance is only with the C-Note Family. This is expressed through both broken five- and six-pointed stars, upside down numbers 5 and 6, and an upside down five-pointed crown and pitchfork. They also disrespect the Insane Deuces with an upside-down I2D’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The back of this card meanwhile, shown here, displays one of my favorite slogans among the cards in my collection: “God made love, God made pain, God made C Note $, Almighty & Insane”. Simple and to the point. With this card the C-Notes are basically declaring war on everybody’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘The hooded figures represent the mystery associated with the gang’s name, and the Puerto Rican and Mexican flags indicated their primary membership. However, there were some Unknowns branches that included white and black members. The Unknowns started in West Humboldt Park and were associated with the Latin Kings, sometimes being referred to as the Unknown Kings. But the Unknowns expansion in the Kings’ home territory of Humboldt Park set off a war between the two. By the late 1970s, the Unknowns became well known for killing the leaders of rival gangs’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
‘This card has a lot going on. In the middle is one of the symbols of the Simon City Royals – a cross with three slashes above. The broken flaming cross represents the Almighty Gaylords (a longtime enemy) with an upside down G and L to make this point clear. Two rabbit figures with bent ears are another symbol of the Royals – the rabbit on the left is throwing up a middle finger and throwing down a Latin Kings crown sign as a form of disrespect. A pitchfork indicates allegiance to the Folk Nation. The other rabbit has crossed fingers, another sign of the Royals, and the Gaylord’s L hand sign’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
The Almighty Gaylords are one of the oldest gangs in Chicago and at their peak one of the largest and most powerful. They mainly comprised white working-class teenagers whose families could not afford to leave the city in the era of white flight; they opposed what they perceived as foreign influence altering their neighbourhoods. They adopted white supremacist symbols and slogans, including Klansmen, swastikas, and flaming Celtic crosses. This card depicts two Klansmen preparing to execute a Simon City Royal rabbit. It’s a reminder of the violence under the surface of these cards’ Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
