User:Privatesteverogers/sandbox

The Continentals were a Chinese American street gang that was prominent in New York City's Chinatown in the early 1960s.

Origins
The Continentals were created in 1961 to protect Chinese students from attacks other ethnic groups. Such as African American Gangs form the Smith Projects where one continental remembers when he used to pass by they would throw dirty diapers out the window and call him Chinaman. The Continentals were the first ABCs (American Born Chinese) gang created in Chinatown Manhattan. The gang got the their name from ripping of insignia from Lincoln Continentals cars. In the early sixties several "juk tuk" clubs began appear. Foremost were the Continentals, a bunch who spent a good deal of time looking into the mirror, practicing complex handshakes.

Criminal History
Prior to immigration law in 1965 the only active Chinese street gang were The Continentals. There crimes were mostly non violent mostly vandalism but never had a reputation of violent crimes or a Not having a money making purpose. The Continentals inability to ingrate with a tong also diminished its status within the community leaving the gang to active for only 3 years.

Legacy
The Continentals will be remember as members that as a gang that did have a a relationship of non violence to the community as compared to to the gangs that followed. For example one ex member became a Chinatown social worker who used to be a former continental to try and make a truce with the Chinatown gangs so they could get a government grant who tried to give up their evil ways and get decent jobs which happened to be a scam to con the Federal government in grant money. They will remembered has being created to combat other ethnic gangs and racism of their time. In the late sixties with the 1965 immigration law new gangs started to merge in Chinatown succeeding the legacy left behind by the Continentals and know for less violence of in comparison to the new gangs that were to come like the Ghost Shadows and Flying Dragons that were extremely more violent and had the principal objective of racketeering.