Although the gang phenomenon has become synonymous with black male criminality, the gang problem cannot be resolved unless more balanced attention is paid to both black male and female involvement in gangs. The author focuses on black women using an innovative legal jurisprudence known as CRF that emphasizes theoretical and practical concerns of black women under the law. Black women's association with gangs is conceptualized, and the role of black women in gangs is addressed. The CRF approach is discussed as a way of combining elements of subculture, structural strain, cultural deficiency, learning, and feminist theories to address factors that affect the gang involvement and criminality of black females. The author believes the CRF approach will ensure that programs for black women are more comprehensive in scope and better able to provide the variety of resources necessary for this group. 53 notes