Almighty Vice Lord Nation facts for kids

The Almighty Vice Lord Nation (often called Vice Lords) is a large group that started in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the oldest and biggest street and prison groups in the city. They are also a founding member of the People Nation, which is an alliance of several groups. Experts believe the Vice Lords have between 30,000 and 35,000 members.

How the Vice Lords Started and Grew

The Vice Lords began in 1957. A group of young African Americans from the North Lawndale area of Chicago formed it. They first met at a youth facility in St. Charles. Edwin "Pepalo" Perry was one of the first leaders. The name "vice" was chosen because it means 'having a tight hold'.

When the first Vice Lords members left the facility, they quickly invited other young people to join. They started having conflicts with other groups in Chicago. By 1964, the group had grown a lot. Law enforcement began to focus on them because of their activities.

Trying to Change Their Image

One leader of the Vice Lords tried to make the group look better to the public. He changed the name to "Conservative Vice Lords." This name is now the basis for the whole Vice Lord Nation. They created new symbols and said they were a community help group. They even asked to form a community outreach group called "Conservative Vice Lord Incorporated" (CVL, Inc.).

This effort worked well enough that the group received good attention. Many politicians and community leaders praised them. CVL, Inc. set up places for neighborhood children to play. These places were then used for meetings after they closed for the day.

In 1970, two Vice Lord leaders, Alfonso Alfred and Bobby Gore, asked for a large grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation approved the money. A 1970 film called Lord Thing shows this time for the CVL. It features Bobby Gore, Kenneth "Goat" Parks, Eddy "Pepilo" Perry, Don McIlvaine, Leonard Sengali, and William Franklin.

At the same time, the Vice Lords were bringing smaller neighborhood groups into their larger organization. This made their numbers grow a lot. Even with the positive news, it was soon found that the Vice Lords were still involved in serious activities.

Adopting Islamic Ideas

After public pressure, a federal investigation looked into how CVL, Inc. used the grant money. As a result, some leaders were arrested. By the early 1980s, Perry and Alfred had passed away, and Gore was in prison. Younger Vice Lord leaders tried another way to hide the group's true goals. They started to use Islamic ideas.

By the mid-1990s, they had created a long document called "Lords of Islam." This document shared new rules for the group. Their main meeting place, near Pulaski and 16th Street, is called the "Holy City."

The 1990s to Today

In the 1990s, the Vice Lords became more complex in their activities. They expanded into areas like fraud and money laundering. In 2021, the Almighty Vicelord Nation became a corporation. Its stated mission is to unite black people globally.

The United States Department of Justice reports that the Vice Lords Nation has about 30,000 to 35,000 members. They operate in 74 cities and 28 states, mostly in the Great Lakes region.

Symbols of the Vice Lords

The Vice Lords use different symbols to show who they are. One common symbol is a rabbit wearing a bow tie, often with a top hat and cane. Their main colors are black, red, and gold.

Willie Lloyd

Willie Lloyd grew up in Chicago's West Side in the 1960s. As a teenager, he joined a Vice Lords group called the Unknown Vice Lords. This group was based in the Lawndale neighborhood. Lloyd quickly became the leader of this group and brought in many followers. He eventually called himself "King of Kings," saying he was the leader of the entire Vice Lord Nation.

However, his time as leader was interrupted when he went to prison. While in prison, Lloyd continued to lead the group. He wrote a 61-page book called The Amalgamated Order of Lordism. This book described how the Vice Lords were organized both in prisons and on the streets. He was in prison from 1971 until 1986. He went back to prison a year later and was released again in 1992. When he left prison in 1992, other group members picked him up. They were dressed in furs and driving five limousines.

Later in 1992, he was involved in a long conflict over who would control the Vice Lord Nation. This conflict included serious actions against rival members. Law enforcement worked harder to remove Lloyd from the streets. From 1994 to 2001, he was again in prison.

Lloyd's time as a leader was linked to many serious incidents. In 1996, police believed that every serious incident in Chicago's 15th district was connected to orders from Lloyd.

After his release from prison, Lloyd publicly said he was leaving the Vice Lords. He became a strong voice against gang life. Lloyd tried to work as a mediator for groups. He also worked with a non-profit organization. For a short time, he was a guest speaker for a class at DePaul University called "Street Gangs in Chicago." This was controversial, partly because Lloyd took students on trips to the West Side.

In August 2003, Lloyd was shot four times in Garfield Park. This was the third time someone tried to harm Lloyd. He became paralyzed from the neck down because of his injuries. There were rumors that Lloyd still wanted to collect money from the Vice Lords as their leader, even though he said he had left gang life. Lloyd gave interviews saying he believed some of his former associates were his attackers. Lloyd passed away in 2015 at the age of 64.