The Black Guerrilla Family is one of the most notorious prison gangs in the nation. BGF made national headlines after it was discovered that BGF member Tevon White controlled the Baltimore City Detention Center by impregnating four female guards who helped him smuggle contraband into the jail.
BGF is currently undergoing a transition as infighting is occurring between members who are seeking to take control of the gang.
But BGF didn’t began as a criminal organization and is over 40 years old.
Here are seven things you didn’t know about BGF.
Black Panther roots
BGF was founded in San Quentin prison in 1966 by George Jackson, a former member of the Black Panther Party. He was shot to death in prison in 1971 while holding a gun during an escape attempt. The gang was actually started as a prison movement that followed the lessons of Marcus Garvey.
The death of Huey P. Newton
Black Guerrilla Family member, Tyrone Robinson, 24, was convicted of the murder of Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California, in 1989.
Honored by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan recorded a song in Jackson’s honor in 1972. Tupac Shakur, Rage Against the Machine, and Digable Planets paid tribute to Jackson through music. He also wrote two books, Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye.
Connection to HBO’s “The Wire”
Marlow Bates Jr., of BGF is serving a 46-month sentence for his role in an alleged drug-dealing conspiracy. His father is Marlow Bates Sr., a drug dealer in the 1980s who served as inspiration for the Marlo Stanfield character on “The Wire.”
Black Guerrilla Family Oath:
If I should ever break my stride, and falter at my comrades side,
This oath will kill me.
If ever my world should prove untrue, should I betray this chosen few,
This oath will kill me.
Should I be slow to take a stand, should I show fear to any man,
This oath will kill me.
Should I grow lax in discipline, or in time of strife, refuse my hand,
This oath will kill me.
Long live comrade George Jackson!
Long live the Black Guerrilla Family!
Author or gangster?
Eric Brown, the 42-year-old inmate and author, who was nearing the end of a lengthy sentence for drug dealing, had teamed up with his wife, Davenport, to start a nonprofit, Harambee Jamaa, which aims to promote peace and community betterment. His The Black Book: Empowering Black Families and Communities was a big seller in the Baltimore area until the BGF indictments of 2009 shut down his self-publishing operation.
Authorities believe Brown’s “The Black Book ” was a ploy by Brown to make BGF in Maryland appear to be a legitimate organization and not involved in criminal activity.
BGF’s prison control and internal strife
While in prison, BGF boss Eric Brown enjoyed meals of salmon, shrimp and Grey Goose vodka while incarcerated at the Maryland Transition Center in Baltimore. Brown is charged in the indictment as the leader of the Maryland branch of the BGF.
The crew is now dealing with internal strife as 14 murders have been linked to BGF members who are fighting for control of the organization.
