Territories and Turf Wars: Exploring the World of the Reapers Gangs in 1970s New York

The summer of 1972 in New York City was hot, tense, and for many young people, dangerous.  Street gangs were a growing presence, and LIFE magazine sent photographer John Shearer to document this reality.  He wasn’t interested in sensationalizing violence; he wanted to show the human side of gang life.  He focused on the Reapers, a gang in the South Bronx, and his photos offer a glimpse into their world.

Gaining access wasn’t easy.  Shearer, one of the first African-American photographers for LIFE, spent weeks in the neighborhood, just observing.  He wanted to build trust before even taking out his camera.  A chance encounter with Eddie Cuevas, the gang’s leader, finally opened the door.  Cuevas, who admired Shearer’s father, a comic strip artist, allowed him into their lives.

Shearer’s photos weren’t about staged fights or tough poses.  He captured the everyday moments:  young men hanging out on stoops, playing basketball, attending parties.  He showed them laughing, joking, and supporting each other.  These were ordinary teenagers, but their circumstances were far from ordinary.

Poverty, lack of opportunity, and racial discrimination were the backdrop of their lives.  The South Bronx was struggling, and for many young people, the gang offered a sense of belonging and protection.  It was a family, a brotherhood, a way to find identity and purpose in a world that often seemed to have forgotten them.

The Reapers had their own rules and hierarchy.  Loyalty was paramount, and respect was earned.  They had their own colors, symbols, and rituals.  Shearer documented these aspects, not to glorify them, but to understand them.  He wanted to show the complex dynamics within the gang, the mix of camaraderie and tension.

Life wasn’t all about hanging out and partying.  Shearer’s photos also showed the harsh realities.  He captured moments of conflict, fear, and loss.  He documented the dangers they faced, both from rival gangs and from the police.  He didn’t shy away from the violence, but he didn’t exploit it either.

#1 Eddie often complains about being hassled by police, but he gets along well with the cop on the beat. Eventually he would like to become a policeman himself. “I’d rap to the fellows and take care of my people.”

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#2 Reapers gang members try to clean up their South Bronx neighborhood, 1972.

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#3 With Javelins, nearby allies, Eddie discusses plans to clean up neighborhood.

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#4 Flanked by his war lord, wearing hat, Eddie warns the president of a rival gang to leave Reaper members alone.

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#5 In a city youth agency office that sometimes gives him funds, Eddie argues, above, for money for trips out of the city. “I want my boys to see what the world’s about.”

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#6 A peace treaty among the gangs has been violated by rivals. Under pressure to retaliate, Eddie instead goes before a night meeting to plead for patience.

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#7 Street gang, the Reapers, New York, 1972.

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#8 In an apartment building corridor, members of the Reapers administer their own swift and brutal justice to a junkie accused of having stolen a Reaper’s car.

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#9 In an apartment building corridor, members of the Reapers administer their own swift and brutal justice to a junkie accused of having stolen a Reaper’s car.

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#10 Eddie and his fellow Reapers pay their respects to ‘Chino’ Rosa, a member of a neighboring gang who was knifed to death. Friends of Chino’s say he was held up and murdered by a junkie, but a grand jury decided that Chino’s assailant had been acting in self-defense. The Reapers donated a week’s dues to the bereaved family.

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#11 Reapers president Eddie Cuevas and his mother in their South Bronx apartment, 1972.

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#12 Eddie Cuevas, president of the Reapers street gang, with his girlfriend Yvette, South Bronx, 1972.

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#13 Reapers president Eddie Cuevas meets with gang members, South Bronx, 1972.

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#14 Eddie and Yvette have been going steady for four years. “When we get married,” he said with pride, “she’s going to wear a white dress.”

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#15 Eddie Cuevas, president of the Reapers street gang, peers out a window in the South Bronx, 1972.

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#16 Eddie’s mother has maintained a shrine to her husband since he died ‘of drinking and a bad temper’ four years ago.

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#17 On a Bronx street are names important to the Reapers: Eddie, his girl friend Yvette, Con and Mr. Kool, the war lord and vice-president.

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