Customer Reviews

Black Brothers, Inc. : The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia's Black Mafia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is certainly a must-read. Like one poster wrote, Mr. Griffin did a thorough job chronicling events that were (before this book was published) often rumored of and never elaborated on. The Black Mafia/Black Brothers/Black Muslim syndicate had long tentacles extending beyond Philadelphia, but eventually crumbled because of its own ultra-violent behavior.
In so many ways, Philadelphia was the epicenter of Black America during the 1970s, and the book does a great job of exposing a number of historical events. I grew up hearing about the Hanafi massacre, the mysterious beheadings, the life and death of Major Coxson, the prison murder of Bo Price, and the rumors surrounding the Nation of Islam. If anyone is interested, this book is beyond worthy, and deserves a space in your library.

I had no idea any of this happend. It's amazing so much of this was in the public eye and never connected as being related. Seeing '70s celebrities mixing with these guys, sometimes fully knowing who they were and what they were up to was mind blowing. The level of voilence is unbelievable, and the ways they manipulate the sytem and even religion to cover things up will make your head spin. You have to give props to the author for his extensive footnotes and documentation. It's hard to say its not true when you see all that!

Gun violence has become so commonplace in today's Philadelphia that it is difficult to remember the days when homicide once shocked us. "Black Brothers, Inc." takes us back to those days, when gangsters presented themselves as community leaders, killing was the exception--not the norm, and murder was purposeful.

In a story as gripping as "The Sopranos," "Black Brothers, Inc." charts the rise of Philadelphia's Black mafia in the 1960s and its ultimate downfall. These brothers were excellent businessmen, holding regular meetings and carefully negotiating mergers and acquisitions of rival syndicates. They were also ruthless, killing with impunity anyone who might testify in court against them.

This book is a fun read, as Sean Patrick Griffin writes tautly and keeps the story moving. He is also adept at linking all sorts of unlikely bedfellows; he painstakingly documents the ties between the Black mafia and Philadelphia's Temple 12 in the Nation of Islam.

Unfortunately, Griffin's conspiracy theories occasionally get out of hand, and he often implies that all African-Americans involved in politics or business are somehow connected with the criminal elements. What Griffin apparently fails to realize is that Philadelphia is a small town, the black community is a small community, and in the end, only a few degrees separate any two individuals. The notion that all black success in Philadelphia is due to organized crime--or even the more prosaic corruption that regularly surfaces in the City Hall--is simply racism.

For its insights into crime, the book is a good buy; for its analysis of the City's political culture, go elsewhere.

I grew in the area that is addressed in the book (A block away from the Richard Allen Housing Projects) I am to young to remember the orginators of the Black Mafia but I came up during the era of the JBM and I knew,hung out and hustled with a lot of the sons and nephews of many of the founding members.This book puts everything out there and lets the reader soak in about how "Being Fly" and connected could shorten your life span. I have read it several times now I am still blown away by it.

GET THIS BOOK!!!

I think this was a well documented book. I was very impressed with the details of the accounts of different events which took place throughout. I think the author did a decent job of balancing the art of telling a story the the science of presenting factual information. At times the chronology of the book was hard to follow. The author goes from one time frame to another at times as a opposed to a steady progression from the past to the future. Overall, I think this is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for insignt about organized crime & social networks in general

The book made me clearly understand a lot of the going ons during that time because I was young.
Growing up in the sections of the city of Philly and ,especially the South Philly side of the action, most of the storied account is true.
The book made me relive the 70's all over again. Most people didn't know of the Black Mafia because it was to be a secret amonst us South Phillyains.
Most of the guys that mentioned in the book were nice and respectable guys though they did their thing.(unlike these so call gangsters of today,when they reached their target they didn't miss and hit innocent people)).
What book failed to mention is the dealing and payoffs within the police departments.
Overall a good incite to what was going on back then !!!

Although I was a young child when the black mafia was in full force in Philly, I remember a lot of the names from my family and neighbors. Now I have recollection of what seemed to be a scattered figment of my past. I am a native "Phillian" from West Philly and was exposed to some of the illegal stuff. Good Job!

I am a former Philadelphia Highway Patrolman who also happened to grow up in West Philadelphia and I am a close relative of some of the politicians cited in the book. As a result, I knew a lot of the subjects and subject matter in the book.
While it was, for the most part, factual. The writer,in my opinion, took some liberties with certain facts and details.
One example of this was his failure to elaborate on the sleazy character of Stanley Branch and the relationship he enjoyed with his brother Gilbert, who happened to be the chief of detectives in the District Attorney's office.There was at least an appearence of conflict and impropriety with respect to these two.

Imformative, as far as who some of the chararcters where that I only heard about as I was growing up in Philadelphia and why they where so feared. It also explained in detail some of the historic events that neighborhood rumors and newspapers only touched on.

A great book. Its very detailed and the author really connects the dots. Sometimes I went to sleep afraid at the memory of the horrific crimes and the terrible legacy created by the Black Mafia. May it never happen again.