Los Angeles' Oldest Street Gang: The 38th Street Gang (Est. 1920)

The 38th Street Gang, formed in 1920 in South Central Los Angeles, holds the distinction of being the city's oldest documented street gang. Originally a multiracial group (Mexican American, African American, Filipino, and white youths), its membership became predominantly African American by the 1940s–50s.

Historical Significance

• Precursor to modern gang culture: Pre-dates the 1940s "zoot suit" era and 1960s–70s Crip/Blood formation
• Sleepy Lagoon Case (1942): 38th Street members were central to this notorious murder trial that sparked the Zoot Suit Riots — a watershed in Mexican American civil rights
• Territory: Centered around 38th Street and Vermont Avenue; expanded across South LA
• Evolution: Absorbed into or allied with larger Blood-aligned sets in 1970s–80s gang consolidation

Context: LA Gang History Timeline

• 1920: 38th Street Gang forms
• 1940s: "Boy gangs" (zoot suiters) — not yet territorial criminal enterprises
• 1960s: First modern "Crips" (Raymond Washington, Stanley Williams)
• 1970s: Bloods form as anti-Crip alliance
• 1980s: Crack epidemic fuels explosion — 300+ gangs, 50,000+ members
• 1992: Rodney King riots — temporary truce, then fragmentation
• 2000s: Federal RICO prosecutions dismantle major sets
• Present: ~450 active gangs, 45,000+ members (LAPD est.); younger, more fluid, social-media driven

Why 38th Street Matters

It represents the transition from ethnic "boy gangs" defending neighborhood turf to the institutionalized, criminally oriented street gang model that would define LA's subsequent decades. Its multiracial origins also challenge simplistic narratives about gang formation.