·
David Barksdale became the leader of BGDN and Hoover became
his second in command. Barksdale died in 1972 and Hoover took
over the leadership position. After Barksdale's death, Jerome Freeman, who was loyal to Barksdale and never wanted the two
groups to unite in the first place, established a parallel leadership position to Hoover.
As a result of this split, two distinct groups emerged within the BGDN. Freeman formed a street gang which calls itself Black
Disciples or BDs, while Hoover renamed his gang the Black
Gangster Disciples or BGDs.
· These two gangs have at times been bitter rivals. The Black Disciples
have remained relatively small in numbers, and have not branched out like
·
The BGD are presence throughout the United
States. Chicago is the location of their leaders and they
have a strong presence in most Midwest cities. The BDG is one of the country's largest criminal
organizations.In the mid-1990s a federal task force was formed to investigate the BGD involvement in several
murders and drug sales. The government found the gang was making over $100,000,000.00 a year in illegal drug sales. Several
high ranking members were convicted and are serving life sentences.
·
The gang has made several attempts to legitimize their image. Some members dropped
the "B" and began to call themselves Gangster Disciples. In the 1990s the Gangster Disciples entered into politics through
the formation of the "Growth and Development" movement. Gangster Disciples began blanketing the city of Chicago attempting to register voters from the inner city. They then "encouraged" the newly
registered voters to vote for candidates loyal to their cause. While incarcerated, the Black Gangster Disciples will unite
with allied gangs under the guise of the Brothers of Struggle (BOS). The gang continues to be involved in large scale drug
trafficking, murders and white-collar crimes.