Chicago Gaylords

Almighty Gaylords

Chicago's Almighty Gaylords - Grand Avenue Young Lords, is one of Chicago's oldest white street gangs, that started in the early 1950s. The gang was originally a neighborhood club. Like other clubs of that era, Gaylords had their own clubhouse and baseball team. The Gaylords clubhouse was on the corner of Ohio and Noble Street. The gang would eventually leave that area as the neighborhood's population became less white and more Hispanic.

Gaylord wizard tattoo

Throughout the 1960-70s, Gaylords, like many other white neighborhood gangs, took a pro-white stance - not white supremacy - but a white pride attitude, that said �We are white, and we're proud of our heritage!� The Hispanic gangs used "Spanish" and "Latin" in their names, so this was done to separate themselves from the gangs they were fighting against at that time.

Gaylord fire cross

At one point during the 1970s, the gang had over a thousand active members. Gaylords held sets (or sections) in both the North Side and the South Side of Chicago. Their South Side sections included Back of the Yards (around 55th and Ashland, Sherman Park), Marquette Park, Pilsen (18th and Western), and Bridgeport (Throop Street). Their North Side presence included Humboldt Park (Maffat and Campbell), Logan Square (Palmer and California, Lawndale and Altgeld), Uptown (Sunnyside and Magnolia, Lawrence and Broadway), Kilbourn Park, and Ravenswood (Seeley and Ainslie).

G/L handsign

The Gaylords experienced continual growth throughout the early 1980s, and held their neighborhoods while most white families moved to the suburbs (white flight). The gentrification of their neighborhoods diminished the gang's ability to recruit new members. In 1984, Gaylords joined the "People Nation" gang alliance, that's predominantly black and Hispanic.

Identifiers/symbols:

* initials "GL"
* numbers "7-12"
* latin cross w/two dashes
* wizard/grim reaper
* five-point star
* cane (seldom used)

Colors: black and light blue, or black and gray

Ethnicity: predominantly white

Territory: Chicago area, Midwest

Allies: Jousters, Freaks, People Nation (Latin Kings, Vice Lords, etc)

Rivals: Folk Nation (Simon City Royals, Gangster Disciples, Latin Disciples, etc)

Criminal activities: drug possession, armed-robbery, weapons violation, assault, murder