Zach Fortier - I am Raymond Washington

I AM RAYMOND WASHINGTON

Copyright 2015 Zach Fortier

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

All photographs used with permission by individual sources. All rights reserved.

Published by

SteeleShark Press

Print edition ISBNs:

ISBN-13: 978-0692245330

ISBN-10: 0692359877

ALSO BY ZACH FORTIER

CurbChek

Street Creds

CurbChek Reload

The CurbChek Collection

Hero to Zero

Landed on Black

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

RAYS EARLY LIFE

AND FAMILY

THE WATTS RIOTS AND

RAYMONDS 12TH BIRTHDAY

THE AVENUES

FORMING THE CRIPS

POWER OF MYTH

AND THE CRIPS

THE CRIPS RISING

RAYMOND WASHINGTON

KILLS YOU TWICE

RAYMOND WASHINGTON

AND STANLEY WILLIAMS

CRAIG CRADDOCK

THE RETURN OF ACHILLES

RAYMOND GOES TO PRISON

AFTER PRISON

DECEPTION AND BETRAYAL

SHADY AFTERMATH

CRIP NATION TODAY

CRIPS MYTHS DEBUNKED

BOOK AND RESOURCE

REFERENCES

ENDNOTES

RAYMOND THE EARLY YEARS

RAYMOND AS A CHILD

RAYMOND AS A TEEN

FAMILY PHOTOS

THE CRIPS AND THE STREET

LANDMARKS AND

PLACES OF INTEREST

RAYMONDS AND

CRAIGS DEATHS

DOCUMENTS, LETTERS,

AND CERTIFICATES

BORN: AUGUST 14, 1953 IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

MOTHER: VIOLET SAMUEL

FATHER: RAYMOND WASHINGTON, SR.

BROTHERS: RONALD JOE, DONALD RAY, REGGIE, DERARD

ADDRESS: 850 EAST 76 TH STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

SCHOOLS:

WORK HISTORY:

DIED:

ARREST RECORD:

W hen I was first contacted by Cliff Woodsthe nephew of Raymond Lee Washington

I mentioned that to Cliff, and he asked that I look into it and then tell him what I thought. He believed there was a story that needed to be told. I admit, I was skeptical at best. If Tookie was not the founder, why did the entire national and world media credit him with being the founder and leader of the infamous Crips gang?

I started to look into Raymond Washington, first doing a Google search of his name, and later digging deep into the web looking for any real evidence to support or contradict Cliffs assertion. This journey began in the summer of 2012, and what I found was remarkable. Not only did I learn, without a doubt, that Raymond Washington was the sole founder of the Crips gang, I also found out that there was an astounding amount of conflicting information about Raymond on the web. In some mainstream media, I found three different articles that each listed Raymond as being born in a different state.

When I looked into the origin of the name, the Crips, I found so many different explanations of where the name had come from, I finally quit counting. It was ridiculous. I came across two sources with similaralbeit unfoundedstories. One was a law enforcement article that claimed one of the original gang members was shot and walked with a limp, and that was the reason for the name. Time magazine also published an article in 1975 stating the same thing.

The article in Time was about a Piru gang member, Joseph Bartender Thomas, and his life in the Piru gang. He was killed shortly after the article was written. Here is an excerpt from the article that refers to Raymond and the origin of the Crips:

But mainly the Piru plots, attacks and defends itself against its hated enemies, the local chapter of the Crips, which is perhaps the most vicious and largest street gang in the area. (The Crips got its name when its leader was shot in the leg and thereafter strutted around his turf with a cane.)

One very common myth propagated by mainstream media is the idea that Raymond started the gang as the Baby Avenue Cribs, but because of his lack of education, or perhaps the inability of his fellow gang members to properly pronounce crib, the name morphed into Crips. Perhaps this idea is popular because it implies that the Crips were a group of underachievers. Inner-city black kids who were less than the rest of us: less educated, less talented and lacking social skills, just less period. This might comfort the rank and file, nine to five, minivan driving, soccer mom crowd, but it does not represent the reality of the situation. Regardless of the reasons, it could not be further from the truth. The brutal reality is this: to survive in South Central Los Angeles during the time Raymond grew up (and perhaps still today) was the ultimate Darwinian test. Only the strongest, smartest, and most cunning survived. It was an environment that makes the current popular movies The Hunger Games and Catching Fire look like a vacation spent on Gilligans Island with Skipper and Mary Ann. South Central is real, and the reality there is that its a daily struggle to survive.

The myth of who Raymond Washington really was has grown exponentially since his death on the streets of Los Angeles in 1979. Unlike Stanley Williams, Raymond Washington did not die from an execution conducted by the criminal justice system. Raymond was drawn in by people he knew well, most likely friends or allies, and publicly executed on the streets he grew up on and later ruled. Much like the murder of Julius Caesar, Raymond was betrayed and murdered by one of his own.

Raymonds murder has never been officially solved,

I did eventually find out that it is well known on the street who called Raymond to a car that was familiar to him. Raymond approached, expecting a friend and ally. Instead he found a shotgun aimed at his abdomen and fired at point-blank range.

This is the life story of Raymond Lee Washington. The undisputed founder of one of the most notorious, deadly, and prolific gangs to ever dominate the streets of Los Angelesthe Crips.