Grove Street Families

The Grove Street Families (a.k.a. Families, GSF, The Grove, or Groves) is a gang featured as supporting protagonists in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. They are lead by Sweet and Carl.
==Description==
The Grove Street Families (3D Universe) is a African-American street gang and one of the oldest street gangs in Los Santos, San Andreas. They are also the native gang of protagonist Carl Johnson. They are the sworn enemy of the Ballas, an intense and ongoing rivalry as part of the Ballas-Grove Street War. The Families also maintain rivalries with the two Mexican gangs in Los Santos - the Los Santos Vagos and the Varrios Los Aztecas. Their rivalry with the Varrios Los Aztecas is not as intense as it is with the Ballas and Vagos. However, both gangs will still commonly fight. Kendl (sister of Grove Street Leader Sweet and protagonist Carl Johnson) ends up dating a high-ranking member of the Aztecas while CJ befriends him, Cesar Vialpando, much to Sweet's dismay.
Most of their territory can be found in the poorer/run-down neighborhoods of South Central Los Santos in the far east of the city, though they also have small pockets of territory elsewhere - including the rich area of Temple and the popular tourist destination of Santa Maria Beach, and the oceanside Playa del Seville. They are easily identifiable by their green gang color. At the start of the game, when CJ returns to Los Santos for the funeral of his mother Beverly, who was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in the Ganton cul-de-sac where the home base for the GSF is by their rival gang, the Ballas, Sweet reveals that the GSF has splintered into three factions, the main group, the Temple Drive Families, and the Seville Boulevard Families, and many of the GSF OGs have been killed as a result of the ongoing gang war. With CJ's help, Sweet begins helping rebuild Grove Street back into a respectable gang and regain their rep and power, and it is thanks to Carl's efforts that Temple Drive and Seville Boulevard agree to rejoin the GSF as a united gang again to face the Ballas. However, when the truth of Ryder and Big Smoke having betrayed the GSF and sided with the Ballas, Vagos, and the LSPD CRASH unit led by the corrupt Frank Tenpenny is exposed, Carl is exiled from Los Santos while Sweet, wounded in a shootout between the Ballas and GSF, is sent to prison to be treated for his wounds and locked up once he recovers, under threat of being put on a Balla cell block by Tenpenny if CJ refused to continue doing jobs for CRASH to keep their corrupt acts from being exposed. With their leadership arrested, exiled, or turned traitor, the GSF collapse completely, and all their territories fall to the Ballas. However, once Carl returns to Los Santos and Sweet is released from prison thanks to Mike Toreno, the GSF are reestablished, and thanks to Carl's efforts once again, they not only reclaim all their lost turf, but drive the Ballas and Vagos to near extinction before taking down Big Smoke and Frank Tenpenny, leaving the GSF as the most powerful gang in Los Santos, and thanks to Carl's efforts in the neighboring cities of San Fierro and Las Venturas, have powerful allies in the Mountain Cloud Boys Triad gang from San Fierro, numerous businesses Carl started generating revenue from, including the Triads' Four Dragons Casino after robbing the Mafia-owned Caligula's Casino, and much more.
As far as street gangs in GTA San Andreas go, the GSF are depicted as more honorable than their rival gangs. Coming from a background of older traditions, they are against hard drugs being sold on their turf as opposed to the Ballas and Vagos.Sweet Johnson: "All they do is sell yay and ruin the place. No crack ever made a gang tight". (from the Cleaning the Hood mission)Sweet Johnson (talking to Big Smoke about the possibility of selling drugs): "Nah. We just standing by our principles, homie". (From the Introduction DVD) They are very stubborn and Sweet refuses to adapt to changes in the Los Santos criminal underworld. Much like every other gang, however, the GSF is known for committing numerous other crimes and violent acts including gun running/arms-trafficking, gang-banging, gang warfare, murder, robbery, burglary/theft, gang-related homicide, vandalism and street violence.
GSF members drive the Greenwood, Voodoo, and Savanna. Their favorite radio station is Radio Los Santos. They also have three different skins that will walk and drive around their territories.
The first member has dreadlocks, wears a green button-up plaid/flannel checkered jacket, beige khaki pants and black and white hi-top sneakers.
The second member is slightly overweight, wears a green bandana, green sweater, black jeans and white sneakers.
The last member wears a backwards black baseball cap, a green #7 Rimmers basketball jersey, a cross necklace, a bracelet, black jeans and black and white sneakers.
Initially, in the beginning of the game, Grove Street members are either unarmed or carry pistols. However, upon completing Ryder's final mission - Robbing Uncle Sam, they also begin carrying TEC 9 sub-machine guns. If the player has sprayed over all 100 gang tags in Los Santos, they will wield Desert Eagles, MP5s, and knives instead of merely pistols and TEC 9s. They can occasionally be seen smoking marijuana and drinking malt liquor while talking and hanging around in groups. Green clothing is a dead give-away and members will often flash their gang hand signs, especially after killing rival gang members. Upon spotting a Balla, Vago, or Azteca gang member, they will often engage in a violent confrontation (especially Ballas). Members of the families, like other pedestrians, will often comment on CJ's attire, physical looks or his vehicle.
==Trivia==
* In Grand Theft Auto V, the Grove Street gang is nowhere to be seen, even in the Grove Street location. Comments from pedestrians would imply that they've all moved on with their lives, presumably to bigger and better things.
==Gallery==
Families.jpg
GSFMember1-GTASA.jpg|First member
Tarnell.jpg|Second member
GSF_Member_3.jpg|Third member
==References==
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