Racist Skinhead
Racist skinheads have long been among the most violent-minded elements of the white power movement. During the 1980s, 1990s and the mid-2000s, particularly, the movement rose to prominence through the lucrative, international hate music scene. The movement has shrunk steadily since.
TOP TAKEAWAYS
With almost no young recruits, the racist skinhead movement鈥檚 prominence within this country鈥檚 white power movement has been diminishing steadily for years.
White nationalist groups with carefully constructed public images and militant neo-Nazi groups are attracting the younger generation, while new racist skinhead groups are exceedingly rare and emerge from the fragments of existing groups. No group is recruiting in significant numbers. Some of the movement鈥檚 former leaders have migrated into other far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, that appeared in response to and aligned themselves with the social movement that emerged in support of former President Donald Trump. Organizing online via social media has been a significant weakness of this movement for years, further contributing to its decline in 2023.
KEY MOMENTS
One of the most significant moments for the Vinlanders Social Club and Firm 22 was the death of Don Hansard, a former leader from Florida, in April 2023. Memorials and meetings were held on a few occasions to 鈥渉onor鈥� his memory and importance to both groups. The American Defense Skinheads (ADS) have remained notably active on Telegram, actively promoting shows hosted by Wellington Arms and Rock Against Communism in Europe. Notably, Matthew Schmoyer, leader of Northwest Hammerskins, was observed ringside at a fight club, lending validation to their banner displayed at the event in Fountain Valley, California. This banner signifying their sponsorship of the event was prominent during the fight.
From 2019-2022, the ADS helped organize at least one small concert in Pennsylvania. The hate group promoted two events, one in April and another in October. The shows attracted a few dozen attendees and were co-organized by Keystone State Skins, or Keystone United, another racist skinhead hate group listed by the 人兽性交. Bands that performed included some associated with ADS and the Atlantic City Skinheads, or AC Skins, which is also listed by the 人兽性交. Former members of the Hammerskin Nation also attended.
In October 2021, people associated with the Atlantic City Skinheads (AC Skins) traveled to Mexico City for a concert. Across 2022, people associated with the AC Skins sustained their relationships with individuals and hate groups promoting concerts featuring a range of subcultural musical styles also co-opted by racists including electronic, industrial, black metal, neo-folk, noise and 鈥渉atecore.鈥� These events bring together newer bands with older, more established hate groups and labels. The American Defense Skinheads have facilitated these new relationships and, along with other skinhead groups, encouraged concerts to get people more deeply involved in the white power movement.
The Idaho chapter of the Northwest Hammerskins held a small show in July 2022.
WHAT鈥橲 AHEAD
The movement will struggle to retain relevance in this country鈥檚 far right, largely due to its failure to attract younger recruits.
Some racist skinhead groups, along with hate music labels and promoters, are networking with racist, far-right skinheads in Chile and Mexico.
BACKGROUND
Since its emergence in Britain in the early 1980s, the racist skinhead movement has existed to promote and enact hate violence. In November 1988, three racist skinheads in Portland, Oregon, beat Ethiopian student Mulugeta Seraw to death with baseball bats. In April 1999, three racist skinheads murdered Mexican immigrant Irineo Soto Aguilar in Lakeside, California, crushing his skull with chunks of concrete. In October 2007, a racist skinhead strangled a 62-year-old gay man in Oklahoma City as a rite of passage in his gang. In 2012, a racist skinhead attacked worshippers at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing seven people who were preparing the day鈥檚 communal meal. These tragedies and similar acts of violence inflict lasting trauma on families and communities.
Some police departments now have bias-crime detectives, with many focused on local threats racist skinhead crews have posed. Racist skinheads have also become a regular element in prisons and juvenile corrections facilities, further exemplifying the central role bigotry plays in shaping our criminal justice system. The U.S. military also has had to contend with racist skinheads in its ranks. Hate music from racist skinhead bands resulted in movement leaders such as鈥�William Pierce鈥痬aking millions of dollars. The hate music scene in this country has always maintained a nearly symbiotic relationship with racist skinheads, and the two have dwindled in some ways together.
2023 RACIST SKINHEAD HATE GROUPS
View all groups by鈥�state鈥痑nd by鈥�ideology.
* - Asterisk denotes headquarters.
Atlantic City Skins
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Tennessee
American Defense Skinheads
Illinois
Pennsylvania
American Front
Washington
Firm 22
Florida
Keystone United
Pennsylvania
Northwest Hammerskins
Seattle, Washington
United Skinhead Nation
Florida
Vinland Clothing
California
Vinlanders Social Club
Florida
Western Hammerskins
California
RACIST SKINHEAD TERMS
14/88: Common white supremacist code. 14 stands for the 鈥�14 words鈥� slogan coined by David Lane, who died in prison while serving a 190-year sentence for his part in the assassination of a Jewish talk show host: 鈥淲e must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.鈥� 88 means 鈥淗eil Hitler,鈥� as H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
28: Shorthand for Blood and Honour, a skinhead group.
38: Confederate Hammerskins, the Southern faction of Hammerskin Nation.
Boot party: Beating a victim to the ground then stomping and kicking them with steel-toed boots.
Braces: Suspenders
Crew: Skinhead gang or faction
Colors: Marks identifying affiliation; can be tattoos, patches, etc.
Curbing or curb job: Breaking a victim鈥檚 jaw or neck by forcing their face against a street curb and kicking the back of the victim鈥檚 head; popularized by the 1998 movie American History X.
Dr. Martens (aka Doc Martens): Brand of durable boots popular with skinheads. Racist skinheads often lace the boots differently and wear either white or red laces to distinguish themselves from other wearers of the popular footwear.
Homey sock: Pool ball in a sock wrapped in tape so it doesn鈥檛 split open when used as a weapon.
Featherwood: Female skinhead
Five words: 鈥淚 have nothing to say.鈥� Skinheads are exhorted to give this standard response to law enforcement and media inquiries.
Fred Perry: Brand of sport shirts favored by skinheads. The brand鈥檚 logo features laurels.
Fresh cut: A newly indoctrinated skinhead whose head has recently been shaved for the first time.
Hammerskins: A nationwide skinhead syndicate, also known as Hammerskin Nation, with regional factions and chapters that once dominated the racist skinhead movement in the United States.
HSN: Hammerskin Nation
HFFH: Hammerskin Forever, Forever Hammerskin
Hang-around: A young person who associates with a skinhead group but is not yet a probate.
Probate: A 鈥渕ember in waiting鈥� who is on probation with a group before he or she can become a full-fledged member.
RAHOWA: Short for 鈥渞acial holy war,鈥� a slogan that originated with the neo-Nazi Church of the Creator; also, the name of a defunct racist band.
Red laces: Bootlace color indicated the wearer has shed blood for the racist skinhead movement. Racist skinheads will often randomly attack nonwhites to 鈥渆arn鈥� their red laces.
Spider web tattoo: Racist skinhead 鈥渂adge of honor,鈥� often worn on the elbow, indicating wearer has committed murder for the skinhead movement.
SHARP: Short for Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice, commonly known as SHARP skins, who often battle racist skins.
Skinbyrd: Female skinhead
Straight-laced: A complex boot-lacing system favored by racist skins who lace their boots in horizontal, straight lines rather than X or cross patterns.
White laces: Bootlace color identifying a skinhead as being 鈥渨hite power,鈥� as opposed to nonracist (鈥渢raditional鈥�) or anti-racist skin.
ZOG: Shorthand for 鈥淶ionist Occupation (or Occupied) Government,鈥� reflecting the neo-Nazi conspiracy theory that the American government is secretly controlled by a powerful Jewish cabal.
