The history of Latino and African American gangs in California goes back generations and is a part of the social fabric of certain areas of the state. On a personal level, I always remember riding in the car with my mom, checking out all of the different hoods and the ever-changing graffiti I would see on the walls. Big block letters or Old English gang text would mark the territory with names like HARPY’S, PLAYBOY GANGSTERS, 18th Street, VENICE 13, FOGTOWN, Florencia 13, and too many others to name. In Venice, punx also adopted certain ways of dressing from our local hoods, but more important than that, we brought gangland-style graffiti into the SoCal punk aesthetic. Now it’s time to pay respect to the real O.G.s…game recognize game…check out the killer photography of Merrick Morton. His photos show the Brotherhood and Sisterhood in Latino and African American gangs of California like no other!
