White Fence

White Fence (also known by the acronym WF[6][7]) is a predominantly Mexican American street gang in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles.

This article is about the street gang. For the musician, see White Fence (musician). For the restaurant chain, see White Fence Farm.
White Fence
Founded1900[1][2][3][4][5]
Founding locationBoyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, United States
Years active1910s – Present
Territory
Membership3000+
AlliesMexican Mafia, other Sureños subsets

History

White Fence is the oldest gang in Los Angeles. The gang itself claims its history goes back as far as 1900,[8] although the gang did not emerge until the 1910s in the form of the all-male sports team associated with the La Purissima Church.[1][2][3][4][5] The group was originally referred to as La Purissima Crowd, but gradually changed its name to White Fence, after the white picket fence that surrounded La Purissima Church. The gang's name has also been interpreted as a "symbolic barrier" between the white residents in the area and the Hispanic residents of the neighborhood, at a time when racism plagued the area. During the 1950s and 1960s, White Fence was considered one of the "most violent and powerful gangs in East Los Angeles."[9][8] The rivalry between the gang and another Hispanic gang, El Hoyo Maravilla, is one of the longest, ongoing feuds in all of Los Angeles, a rivalry going back to the 1930s.[8][10] White Fence was the first gang in East Los Angeles to use firearms, chains and other dangerous weapons.[11]

White Fence is an old established gang territory in Boyle Heights adjoined to East Los Angeles.[3][12]

References
  1. Shelden, Randall G.; Tracy, Sharon K.; Brown, William B. (2001). Youth gangs in American Society (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson Learning. pp. 43–44. ISBN 9780534527457.
  2. Hohm, Charles F.; Glynn, James A., eds. (2002). California's Social Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 9780761987130.
  3. Moore, Joan W. (1991). Going Down to the Barrio: Homeboys and Homegirls in Change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 1–181. ISBN 9781439903940.
  4. "White Fence | Street Gangs Resource Center". streetgangs.com. 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  5. Spergel, Irving A. (1995). The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 155. ISBN 9780195092035.
  6. Bag, Alice (2011). Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. p. 66.
  7. "U.S. gang acronyms and abbreviations". accuracyproject.org. September 12, 2012.
  8. Blatchford, Chris (2008). The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer. HarperCollins. pp. 102.
  9. Rosen, Fred (2005). Historical Analysis of American Crime. New York, NY: Facts on File Inc. pp. 235–237.
  10. Vinson, J.; Crame, J.; Von Seeburg, K. "Rocky Mountain Information Network, (2008). Surenos" (PDF).
  11. Mazón, Mauricio (1984). The Zoot-Suit Riots: The Psychology of Symbolic Annihilation. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 5.
  12. Griñie, Gilbert M. (2008). The Way Out: A Historical Perspective on Gangs. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation. p. 20.
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