Peace is brewing in parts of San Diego between decades-long sworn enemies the Crips and the Bloods. Veterans from both gangs hope that dialogue will trump threats and badly needed resources will replace gunfire.
How it happened
The sheer body count from gang murder after gang murder after gang murder left the neighborhoods of Skyline, Paradise Hills, Mt. Hope, Lincoln Park, Stockton Memorial and Chollas View traumatized. The victims extended beyond those who were killed — their loved ones and neighbors were victims too.
Then a few years ago, a local nonprofit called Pillars of the Community decided to get the Crips and Bloods to stop the killing. They reached out to long-time gang members first. People like Ricky Weaver, a 62-year-old Crip who has spent more than half of his life in prison. He was ready for dialogue.
“Because I realized that death is over. Before, I didn't care if I lived, I didn't care if I died, I didn't care,“ he said. “I had no fear. So you just learned that death is final. It's over. Whether you're young, or older, in the middle, whatever. And you see mothers crying. So we just said, 'Hey, we don't want no mothers to cry this summer.’”
Weaver said he changed his language to stop the killing, and he keeps his ear to the streets. If violence is looming between the Crips and Bloods, he requests a one-on-one with the involved Crip and asks if there is another way.
Lanelle Brown, 54, is a Blood, but said he’s transcended the hatred and revenge bred by killings of people in his family.
“My lesson is try to prosper, get your education, get your money right. Just fighting people for no reason. That's for the birds. That’s for savages,“ he said. “We’re human and we should be able to live in a society just because of our skin color and the color of the clothes that we are wearing. There’s got to be something better.”
By the numbers
In the eight years before the Crips and Bloods started talking, there were 15 gang related murders on their turf, making up 25% of gang killings across the city.
Then in 2023 and 2024, there were zero in those same neighborhoods, but 10 across the city.
San Diego Police Lt. Lou Maggi said he’d like to think part of the reason for the drop is due to several large-scale police operations targeting some of the most brutal gangs and criminals in the city that have “put a lot of very violent people in jail.”
But community members say it's their work that's making a difference. They are also working to open two drop-in centers, one in Stockton Memorial and another in Ocean View, where people including current and former gang members can access career counseling, job training, child care and mental health courses.
Melissa Hernandez was a member of a gang tied to the Crips and said the services are vital to ending the Blood-Crip violence forever.
“Because there's not no broken cycle yet. It just keeps going on and on and on,“ she said. “And I'm seeing this even with young kids. I was a young one. So me being the young one, nobody was there for me and the ones that were, they gave up too soon. “
Looking ahead
Cheri Hampton, 42, who was in a Blood-affiliated gang, said outside of the violence coming down, the biggest effect of talks between the Crips and Bloods is understanding.
“We're now realizing that we're more powerful as one versus segregated. Why are we segregating ourselves?“ Hampton said. “We're building, we're creating jobs, we're giving back to the community, and we're showing by example. So being the people that we are, we're highly respected out here. So they trust us. The community trusts us in what we're doing.”
Each of these people say there’s a broader message here for these divided times in America: if the Crips and Bloods can talk and find common ground to create a better future, then so can Democrats and Republicans.
