The Vice Lords are one of the oldest largest and most notorious street gangs in Chicago. With an estimated 30,000-35,000 members across 28 states, their influence reaches far beyond their home turf on the city’s West Side.
Given their prominence, many wonder if the Vice Lords avoid certain foods for religious or cultural reasons. Specifically, a common question arises: do Vice Lords eat pork?
This article takes an in-depth look at the Vice Lords’ history, religious views, and food traditions to determine if gang guidelines prohibit members from consuming pig products.
A Brief History of the Vice Lords
- Founded in the late 1950s by teenagers at an Illinois correctional facility
- Original name referenced founders looking up the word “vice” and liking its connotations of control
- Recruited heavily in the North Lawndale area throughout the 1960s
- Absorbed smaller gangs and grew significantly in membership and criminal activities
- Tried to reform public image in the 1970s with name change and community programs
- Expanded into drug trafficking and other illicit enterprises by the 1980s
- Adopted Islamic ideology and aesthetics in the 1980s and 1990s
- Today continue traditional street gang activities along with sophisticated fraud and money laundering schemes
No Religious Avoidance of Pork
The Vice Lords’ incorporation of Muslim symbols might suggest they follow Islamic dietary restrictions that forbid pork. However, research indicates the gang’s “Lords of Islam” belief system is not seriously practiced.
- Merely an attempt to change negative public perception
- Members mostly identify as secular or nominally Christian
- Scholars find no adherence to tenets of Islam or sincere religious motivations
Without a theological basis for avoiding pork, the Vice Lords as an organization do not prohibit it
Potential Individual Choices to Abstain
However, some members may opt not to eat pork for personal reasons like:
- Health concerns about pork’s cleanliness
- Disliking the taste
- Family food traditions that excluded pork
- Viewing pork consumption as weak
But these appear to be individual choices rather than official policies
A Lack of Centralized Food Bans
Analyzing internal Vice Lords documents reveals no bans on specific foods like pork. The only official diet rule is against “mind-altering substances” like drugs and alcohol.
Interviews with gang scholars also uncovered no knowledge of an organized avoidance of pork within the group.
With no clear doctrine, Vice Lords members seem free to eat pork if they wish.
The Bottom Line: No Prohibition on Pork
In conclusion, extensive research into the Vice Lords found no gang-wide restrictions against eating pork. While some members may choose to avoid it for personal reasons, the group has no unified Islamic or cultural basis for prohibiting pork consumption.
So while the Vice Lords have complex codes of conduct, a ban on eating pork does not appear to be one of them. Individual members’ diets likely vary based on personal preference rather than formal rules.
When it comes to food choices, Vice Lords members are free to eat pork if they desire, despite their infamous reputation on the streets of Chicago.
Vice Lord Chevy “Bloods are not under the 5, I told a Blood in Prison that he can’t speak for us”
FAQ
Who do Vice Lords beef with?
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Founded
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1957
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Activities
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Drug sales, robbery, extortion, fraud, money laundering, murder, racketeering
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Allies
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Black P. Stones Bloods Latin Kings People Nation Mickey Cobras
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Rivals
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Folk Nation Gangster Disciples Simon City Royals Crips
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Notable members
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Polo G Moneybagg Yo
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Where in the Quran does it say you can’t eat pork?
Who doesn’t eat pork?
Are Vice Lords still active in Chicago?
Is eating pork a sin?
Some of us Christians believe the Old Testament rules were for our own good. As new creatures in Christ we are not under the Law. Eating pork is not a sin. It is however much like eating shellfish foolish. Which denomination’s views does this answer represent, that eating pork is not sinful but is foolish?
Did God protect the Israelites from eating undercooked pork?
Of course, eating under-cooked pork would have posed a significant health threat to the Israelites, but God providentially protected them through the Mosaic Law. “If you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you” ( Exodus 15:26 ).
Are pork eaters allowed to eat in the way?
Pork-eaters entering The Way, on the other hand, are expressly forbidden to participate in idolatry and blood, but eating (or not) certain kinds of food is left to the conscience of each one, which is instructed to a greater or less degree by the Law, but even more by Love. (Acts 15:19, Romans 14:3, Romans 13:8)
Why did the Israelites not eat pork?
Saying “no” to eating pork and other practices of the pagans helped the Israelites to break free from idolatry—a sin they assuredly struggled with (see Exodus 32 ). Under the Old Testament Law, not only was eating pork forbidden, but even touching the meat of swine made one ritually unclean ( Deuteronomy 14:8 ).