Tattoos and Tagging

The Folks and

The People

Tattoos and graffiti play a major role within gangs.

Each gang and sub-gang has their own symbols they proudly wear and mark.

, A lo n g w it h c o lo r s t h e y a ls o id e n t if y b y t h e t a t t o o s t h e y

.w e a r

Each gang falls under either the Folks or the People.

The Gangster Disciples are associated with the Folks.

FOLKSAll gangs within the

Folks Nation have different symbols for

their own gang or set. The most common Folks symbol is the six-pointed star, but many symbols are

universal for all affiliated gangs.

There are also many other symbols within the Folks.

Here are just a few:Six-pointed crown – Individual points represent love, life, loyalty, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

The Heart- Love for the whole Folk Nation

Heart with Sword through it – Death before dying

Flame or Torch – Eternal life & determination to overcome all obstacles; Path and direction of gang

All Branches of the Folk Nation – Represents hardships endured, oppression of gang members and other third world people.

Wings – The spreading of the nation or the strength to rise above

The main emblem for the Gangster Disciples is

All gangs within the People also All gangs within the People also have their own symbols but the have their own symbols but the

universal sign to identify with the universal sign to identify with the People is the Five Pointed Star. People is the Five Pointed Star. The Latin Kings are associated The Latin Kings are associated

with the People.with the People.

Some other symbols associated with the PEOPLE are:

The symbol for the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens is

**Any symbol that is cracked, broken, or upside down is a sign of disrespect for the gang or Nation

the symbol represents. **

IDENTIFIERS —The Latin Kings

The Latin Kings are known to exhibit in drawings, paintings, and graffiti their

reflection and interpretation of the Latin Kings.

The Latin Kings colors are used in much of the material along with symbols such as A.L.K.N. (Almighty Latin King Nation), A.D.R. (Amor Del Rey Love the King), crowns, lion heads, “LK”, bulldogs, Coat of Arms, guns, cars and

money.

The Latin Kings will eulogize with graffiti the locations where a

gang member has fallen or died. In the graffiti it will usually be the

name of the fallen comrade, date, and initials of the artist.

If another gang is responsible for the death of the Latin King member, an

upside down symbol of that gang may appear in the graffiti with the words

“Lollypop” as a putdown to that gang. Payback and anniversary dates of

slain fellow gang members add to the violence of this group.

Ranking by a show of beads

• The Latin Kings also use a sequence of beads to identify ranks of members.

• Five black followed by five gold for members.

• Five black followed by two gold for executive members.

• All black for the enforcers or Assassins

From tattoos, graffiti, and tagging to artwork and beads,

gangs use many forms of nonverbal communication to

communicate with one another.

Information was gathered from the:

Wisconsin Gang Identification and Management Training guide

WI DOC (Dept. of Corrections)

Waupun Correctional Institute