Hull-House Museum Exhibit Explores a Chicago Gang’s History and Impact

From the Huffington Post

The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams Hull-House Museum on Friday opens a new, off-site exhibit exploring the history and impact of the Conservative Vice Lords, one of the city’s most well-known gangs.

And that history is, perhaps, a surprising one, according to Lisa Junkin, the museum’s education coordinator and exhibit co-curator. Though the gang’s predecessor (the Vice Lords) was a notoriously violent group, the ’60s-era CVL were incorporated as a non-profit organization engaged in the civic life. Nevertheless, CVL members were targeted by police during the city’s “war on gangs.”

Junkin said the exhibition, which features photos, artifacts and audio interviews with former CVL members, “doesn’t glorify or demonize gangs.”

“Rather, it challenges widely held views of gang members as unredeemable thugs through an untold story of the Conservative Vice Lords fighting for the life of their community,” she said in a release announcing the exhibit.

Check out the article to view the gallery.

Many people ignore white gangs when considering gang violence.

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