White power skinheads are members of a white supremacist and antisemitic
offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white
nationalist organizations. In the United States, the majority of
white power skinhead groups are organized either at the state, county,
city or neighborhood level. The Hammerskin Nation is one of the few
exceptions, due to its international presence.
History The original skinhead subculture started
in the late 1960s, and had heavy British mod and Jamaican rude boy influences —
including an appreciation for the black music genres ska, soul music and early
reggae. The identity of skinheads in the 1960s was neither based on white power
nor neo-fascism, but some skinheads had engaged in "gay-bashing",
"hippie-bashing" and/or "Paki bashing". The original skinhead scene had mostly
died out by 1972, but a late-1970s revival came partly as a backlash
against the commercialization of punk rock. This revival coincided with the
development of the 2 Tone and Oi! music genres. The late-1970s skinhead revival
in Britain included a sizable white nationalist faction, involving
organizations such as the National Front, British Movement, Rock Against
Communism and — in the late 1980s — Blood and Honour. Because of this, the
mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as neo-Nazi.
The racist faction of the skinhead subculture eventually spread to North
America, Europe and other areas of the world. White power skinhead groups such
as the Hammerskins emerged, and racist skinheads gained acceptance among other
organized white power organizations such as the Church of the Creator, White
Aryan Resistance and the Ku Klux Klan. In 1988, there were approximately 2,000
neo-Nazi skinheads in the United States. In 1995, neo-Nazi skinheads Malcolm
Wright Jr. and James N. Burmeister were charged in the murder of an African
American couple in North Carolina. Wright and Burmeister were in the United
States Army, and part of Fort Bragg's 82 Airborne Division. Wright and Burmeister
were both arrested at a trailer park where police found a 9-mm semiautomatic
pistol, a Nazi flag, white supremacist pamphlets, and other gang paraphernalia.
Both men were sentenced to life in prison.
According to a 2007 report by the Anti-Defamation League, groups such as
white power skinheads, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan had been growing more
active in the United States, with a particular focus on opposing
immigration, specifically from Mexico. Style and clothing
Skinheads of all types are known for wearing Dr. Martens or combat-style
boots, flight jackets, jeans and suspenders. Some white power skinheads
wear badges, chains or rings featuring Nazi or white power emblems. Many
punk-influenced Oi! skinheads dress similarly to white power skinheads,
without the racist or neo-Nazi symbols. In contrast to the 1960s-style
mod-influenced Trojan skinheads, white power skinheads typically have worn
higher boots, T-shirts instead of button-up shirts, and army trousers or
jeans instead of Sta-Prest trousers or suits. They usually crop their hair
shorter than the 1960s-style skinheads — often to grade 0 length — or they shave
their heads completely with a razor. White power skinheads generally have
more tattoos than the skinheads of the 1960s, and these tattoos often feature
explicitly racist content. In Germany and the Netherlands, the
Lonsdale clothing brand had been popular among some neo-Nazi skinheads. This was
partly because the four middle letters of Lonsdale, NSDA, are almost the same
as the abbreviation of Adolf Hitler's political party, the
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. The Lonsdale brand has
been popular with non-racist skinheads for decades, and the company has
sponsored anti-racist events and campaigns, and has refused to deliver
products to known neo-Nazi retailers. Notable organizations with white power
skinhead members Aryan Guard
Blood and Honour British Movement
Combat 18 Heritage Front
Hammerskins National Front
Volksfront White Aryan Resistance
Notable bands with white power skinhead members
Kolovrat Landser
Macht und Ehre No Remorse
Skrewdriver Skullhead
Portrayals in films and video games Adam's Apples
American History X The Believer
Dead Bang Erasing Hate
Ethnic Cleansing Higher Learning
The Infiltrator Made in Britain
Manhunt Neo Ned
Pariah Pink Floyd – The Wall
Romper Stomper Russia 88
Skinhead Attitude` SKINHEAD REQUIEM
Skinning SLC Punk!
Sökarna Steel Toes
This Is England Tic Tac
See also Ian Stuart Donaldson
List of gangs in the United States List of white nationalist organizations
Racism in Russia National Socialist black metal
Nazi punk Nicky Crane
White pride White power music
White separatism White supremacy
References Bibliography
Diamond in the Dust - The Ian Stuart Biography. London: Blood and Honour
England. 2002. Dobratz, Betty A.. "White power, white
pride!": The white separatist movement in the United States. London: Twayne
Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-3865-0. External links
Neo-fascists in Russia Nazi skinheads and racist rock
Nicky Crane: The secret double life of a gay neo-Nazi