Stewart - The Rise of a Street General: An Autobiography

The Rise of a Street General

An Autobiography

Michael "Turtoe" Stewart

Copyright 2021 Michael Turtoe Stewart

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-2530-1 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-2531-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my mother, Georgia Mae Stewart, a true Nubian queen. May you rest in peace among those great queens that once walked this impoundable earth.

Looking at the C-Nation today, in its present condition, its state of affairs, and its standing among the gang culture (e.g., African, Mexican, Caucasian, and Asian gangs), is like looking at present-day Ethiopia. A person would never know there once stood the great Ethiopian Empire, which held a high standing among the worlds nations. In order for a person to know the great Ethiopian Empire ever existed, a person would have to read African history. The same is said about the C-Nation. In both nations, there is nothing left that suggests that these two great empires existed, except for relics, ruins, souvenirs, and of course history itself. To ever know that the C-Nation was once a dominant and superpower, its history must be written for future purposes.

In life people make many sacrifices and contributions, but only those that make a difference (bad or good) will be remembered hundreds of years from today.

Is it possible for a former gang member to make a successful transition in todays society from societys antagonist to its protagonist? This exit will determine.

Why You Should Read This Book

The Rise of a Street General provides a unique and fascinating look into a gang members journey to the rise to the top. Starting with his initiation into the gang in 1975, this story chronicles his wars with rival gangs and his years spent in the LA County Jail. It gives a look into the organized Crip movement within the California prison system during the 1980s. It witnesses the rise and fall of two Crip superpower organizations that dominated the system for a short period.

The Rise of a Street General brings you to the present-day state of affairs within the Black/African gang culture and the effects of gang psychosis and self-imposed cretinism. It separates myths from reality and facts from propaganda and dispels misconception and stigmas. For the first time ever, heres a book written by a gang member from a military and political perspective. This book also provides a psychological look into a gang members thought process as he pursues his gang career and his exit strategy from the gang, as well as his concept for peace and reducing gang violence.

This is an extraordinary and remarkable book. No other gang member this far has written a book so vividly, insightfully, and informatively, sure to leave a lasting impression on its readers. This book is destined to be a classic. The Rise of a Street General is a must-read book.

Authors Note

In the violent, dangerous, and barbaric gang culture, there is no such title as the great or greatest Crip(s) or Blood(s), as it is in all other occupations and career choices. Even in the criminal underworld, there are great/greatest outlaws. There may never be a measurement or standard to determine a great or one of the greatest Crips. But I believe if there were such a title, I would be eligible to have my name embossed into the blue bandana/rag. I believe that I have had an impressive and unprecedented journey as a Crip. My experiences have been unique and extraordinary. My reign and tenure as an Avalon Crip and influential Crip exceeded all expectations with a thirty-two-year span. From the age of sixteen to forty-eight, from 1978 to 2010, I have watched many of my peers retire, fall by the wayside, go on hiatus, and return. Some were victims of coups and vicious attacks. Some even took the walk of shame (protective custody [PC]). I have overcome many conspiracies to bring about my demise. To be a soldier in a street gang army most definitely requires resilience. Its hard being a typical gang soldier, less known to reign and hold tenure for thirty-two consecutive years. My journey is worthy of making history, and if there is ever a title of great or greatest Crip, I have the qualifications. Although my occupation and career is not seen as an honorable choice by mainstream America, I would still like to thank my immediate Avalon homeboys that remained loyal and all worthy Crips I encountered that extended their loyalty. I dont think I could have accomplished this milestone without you all. I dont encourage any non-gang members dedicate so many years to a non-conducive occupation or career.

Retired General

Pushing Forward

A special thanks to my Westside homeboys from Raymond Avenue who had my back and extended their undying loyalty to me throughout my entire plantation journey.

Preface

I decided to write about my life journey through the gang culture and the gangbanging arena that commenced in 1975. It highlights the traditional gangbanging activities of the Crips and Bloods on the Eastside of Southcentral Los Angeles. Without going to in-depth or incriminating myself or anyone else, I want to highlight my time spent in the small town of Fenton Louisiana, the LA County Jail, and the prison/modern-day plantation system.

Some experiences in life can only be fully understood by those people that were a part of that particular experience. For instance, a woman can tell a man, about the process of childbirth. He may understand everything she says about the process, but without personal experience, he cant actually understand the process of childbirth. Knowledge gives a person understanding and not experience. The same is said about an astronaut. He can return from the moon and tell his experience to everyone, giving people understanding, but not an experience of what its like to walk on the moon.

To fully understand gangs, a person would have to experience the process, and the process is not worth it. It leads to a dead-end journey.

I would like for people of all walks of life to read this book and be able to get something from it. My intention is to put things in a historical and political perspective, to be informative and entertaining. I intend to dispel some of the myths, misinformation, and stigmas that have been attached to me in society, and since I have been in captivity, I can merely speak on my experiences and interpretations as a loyal gang member of the Avalon Crip Gang and the Crip Nation and as a Black man. The majority of my life, I spent as a soldier, a soldier to my individual gang, a soldier to the C-Nation, and a soldier to my race.

My experience and interpretations do not make the next gang member or soldier wrong or incorrect on how he analyzes the events in his years of services. For once, I would like to write about my years of services, from a military, political, and cultural perspective, which may be difficult, for a typical gang member to do, considering that they may not have any experiences that would be unique or outside the box. The majority of gang members spend their entire career as gangbangers.

I also want to mention that all gang members do not share the same mindset, so I would like to open this writing with a piece I call Inside the Mindset. I believe this piece is important because it gives insight to the mental state of gang members.

Inside the Mindset

In gangs, all members of the gang do not share the same mentality or status. Although they all enter the gang with the same status, what they all share is the gang psychosis. The gang usual has a few members that quote: Put the set/gang on the map. (That is when a member does an act that has brought recognition to the set/gang. In many of the traditional, early sets, that act was established during the early and midseventies. Most gangs put their sets on the map, within the first two years of their inception.) Putting your set on the map can become a defining moment in a gang members career, as well as a defining moment in that gangs history. This was the type of gang member I was to become. To become that sort of gangbanger, a person has to always display courage and a lack of regard for their own mortality. This means placing very little value on their own life, willing to sacrifice it if necessary. That journey is very, very risky. To survive, it will most likely put the gangbanger in a dominant position of the gang. He can even make the transition from gangbanger to gang member. Honorable, if he chooses to.