FAREWELL TO GREGORY "BATMAN" DAVIS, AN OG BEFORE THERE WERE OGs

“It was never about the destination. It was always about the journey.” - Bogard, aka George Thomas talking about Gregory “Batman” Davis

On the streets of Greater Los Angeles – and most of the United States now -  “OG” means Original Gangster. But those initials - and those words - are thrown about without the proper respect the term really  implies and deserves. There are 19-year-olds who are labeled OGs who, tough as they may, are not OGs.

There are even what is known as Triple OGs. Many of them are old friends. These are gang members who have been around 20, 30, even 40 years.

 However, truth be told, the truly Original Gangsters from Watts, South Central, Compton, Gardena and Inglewood were around long before the term OG was even invented.

 I say all this to get to Gregory “Batman” Davis. There would have to be a new term invented to properly classify him.

 No one disputes that the Crips were founded by Raymond Washington, a 16-year-old who grew up on 76th street and Wadsworth Avenue, which is a block west of Central Avenue,  around 1969. Check this 2005 LA Weekly article https://www.laweekly.com/tookies-mistaken-identity/. 

 One of the founding members with Raymond of the gang that was originally titled Baby Cribs, (too long a story to explain here, but read that above article I wrote) was on Gregory Davis. Make that Gregory “Batman” Davis.

Davis passed away a month ago at age 69 and this Saturday, May 3, is his funeral. However, the cemetery he is to be buried in, Corona Sunnyslope, needs more money than the family currently has to dig the dirt and put it back, his sister told me

 “We have the plot, but it’s more money than we have to do the actually digging and putting his casket in the ground,” said Deborah Davis-Sampson.   “Anyone who can help out will be truly appreciated.”

 Anything will help, she said.

Briefly on Batman, who was born in 1955 and got his name from his love of the television show “Batman” which was on ABC Channel 7 from 1966 to 1968 and starred Adam West as Batman, aka Bruce Wayne.  Gregory loved that show.

 And when Raymond formed the Crips, Gregory was an original member and, after a brief run with another nickname, became Batman. He envisioned himself like the fictional Batman, someone coming to the rescue.

 Batman fought and shot for his hood. He did time for his crimes. But Gregory batman Davis was one of those classic cases who turned his life around and became devoted to, classically, not wanting the younger ones to go through what he and Raymond and everyone in the “Crips” and “Bloods” went through.

“Batman dispised the gang culture of today and things done in the past glorifying death,” said Melvin Farmer, aka Skull, an original Westside Crip and co-founder of Gangster Crips. “He didn’t want today’s youth going through what we went through.”

 He fervently taught kids that education was the way to go.

 So much so that he was honored in 2000 by President Bill Clinton for his work in trying to keep kids out of gangs. Along with Chiquita Tolton, Gregory was honored at “Let’s Save the Babies” as Man of the Year. “With your additive involvement, you have brought hope and help to many families in need.”

 OG?  Yeah, Gregory “Batman” Davis was an OG, but way before there were OGs.  

 To help, call Yvonne Vargas at the Corona Cemetery at (951) 736-0460.