The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California.
Crips, street gang based in Los Angeles that is involved in various illegal activities, notably drug dealing, theft, extortion, and murder. The group, which is largely African American, is traditionally associated with the color blue. The Crips gained national attention for their bitter rivalry with the Bloods. The gang’s origins are disputed.
The continued list of Crips street gangs encompasses a wide variety of different identities which are the result of decades of internal conflict between its subsets or "sets". The history of the Crips family of identities can be traced back to the original Crips gang founded at John C. Fremont High School in Florence.
The Bloods and the Crips are the two most infamous street gangs in American history — born in the streets of Los Angeles, shaped by poverty, violence and rivalry, and now spread across the entire United States. This is the complete story of how they started, why they went to war and what they became.
The late 1960's was the site of the development of what would be one of the most violent and unlawful African-American gangs in the history of Los Angeles, the Crips. It all began with the creation of a small gang called the "Baby Avenues" by two South Central Los Angeles high school students, Raymond Washington and Tookie.
Crips gang members are implicated in murders, robberies, drug dealing, sex trafficking, and other serious crimes. This article summarizes the history of the gang, its symbology, and its evolution over time, especially in relation to rivalry with the Bloods and reference to popular culture.