anti-racist skinheads
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Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power skinheads,
neo-fascists Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, Nativism (politics), nativism, xenophobia, and an ...
and other political racists, particularly if they identify themselves as skinheads. SHARPs aim to reclaim the original multicultural identity of the original skinheads, hijacked by white power skinheads, who they sometimes deride as "boneheads". SHARP professes no political ideology or affiliation, beyond the common opposition to racism. The group stresses the importance of the black Jamaican influence in the original late-1960s skinhead movement much akin to Trojan Skinheads.


History


Background

The original skinhead subculture started in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and had heavy British
mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
and Jamaican rude boy influences, including a love for ska and soul music. Although some skinheads (including black skinheads) had engaged in "
Paki bashing Paki is a term typically directed towards people of Pakistani descent mainly in British slang, and as an offensive slur is often used indiscriminately towards people of perceived South Asian descent in general. The slur is used primarily in th ...
" (random violence against
Pakistanis Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...
and other South Asian immigrants), skinheads were not associated with an organized racist political movement in the 1960s. However, in the late 1970s, a skinhead revival in the UK included a sizable white nationalist faction, involving organizations such as the National Front,
British Movement The British Movement (BM), later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequentl ...
,
Rock Against Communism Rock Against Communism (RAC) was the name of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has since become the catch-all term for music with racist lyrics as well as a specific genre of rock music derived ...
and in the late eighties Blood and Honour. Because of this, the mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as
neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
. This new white power skinhead movement then spread to other countries, including the United States.


Emergence

Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice was founded in 1987 by Marcus, a skinhead from New York City. It emerged as a response by suburban adolescents to the bigotry of the growing White Power Movement in 1982. Traditional skinheads (Trads) formed as a way to show that the skinhead subculture was not based on racism and political extremism. NYC
Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was p ...
band The Press and Jason O'Toole (vocalist of the hardcore punk group Life's Blood) were among SHARP's early supporters. In 1989, Roddy Moreno of the Welsh Oi! band
The Oppressed The Oppressed are a Welsh Oi! band that formed in 1981 in Cardiff, Wales. Most of the musicians in the band's various lineups have been skinheads. Throughout the band's career, the members (especially vocalist Roddy Moreno) openly expressed opp ...
visited New York City and met a few SHARP members. On his return to the United Kingdom, he designed a new SHARP logo based on the Trojan Reggae labels design and started promoting SHARP ideals to British skinheads. SHARP then spread throughout Europe and in other continents. In the UK and other European countries, the SHARP attitude was more based on the individual than on organized groups. In the 2000s, SHARP is thought to have become more of an individual designation than an official organization. But still Skinheads, especially in the United States and Indonesia align themselves with groups and organizations to this day. Most of which Designate themselves as ''Crews''. Many strive for an individualist presentation with collectivist goals. As well are generally imposed into community service, protesting, activism both Violent and Peaceful. You may find SHARP's apart of local Mutual Aid or Activist groups such as Black Lives Matter or Anti-Racist Action, in which the latter was even in part founded by Skinheads, most well known of which being Mic Crenshaw. The United States scene has been entirely agitated by the racist overture and have resorted to all forms of anti-racism and anti-fascism to redeem their style and culture. Violence has been rampant within either of the Skinhead factions for decades now. Between fighting in Clubs and Venues as well as the streets. From Mosh pit shuffles to murder. The American scene has been alive and vibrant since the 80's. Some of the most well known Anti-Racist Skinhead crews being that of The Baldies Syndicate, American S.H.A.R.P (Colloquially known as A.M.S). S.H.A.R.P still remains quite active to this day, Besides the aforementioned groups many exist globally and have active membership. Many people may confuse SHARP members with racists, since their appearance is superficially similar: shaved heads, denim, lace up boots, button-down shirts and suspenders (called ''braces''). One glib differentiation that might be imagined to separate the two would be music interests. SHARPs may listen to culturally influenced music such as: soul, reggae, and ska; but also punk, hardcore and
Oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement was p ...
. Racist skinheads would disagree with some or all of these musical choices; but may listen to punk, hardcore, Oi!, as well as
Nazi punk __NOTOC__ A Nazi punk is a neo-Nazi who is part of the punk subculture. The term also describes the related music genre, which is sometimes also referred to as hatecore. Nazi Punk music generally sounds like other forms of punk rock, but diffe ...
and
National Socialist black metal National Socialist black metal, also known as NSBM, Aryan black metal, and Neo-Nazi black metal, is a political movement and subgenre within the black metal music scene that promotes neo-Nazism, Fascism, and white supremacist ideologies. NSBM a ...
. In a deliberate attempt to reject the growing racist subculture, since the early eighties SHARPs promulgated an anti-racist identity through small amateur
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
publications like ''Hard As Nails''. During the pre-Internet era, these publication established a network of likeminded individuals with similar musical and stylistic attitudes, who considered anti-racism an indispensable part of a living skinhead scene. Another strand of the same Trad revival sought to affirm explicit links with the foundation of Mod subculture and its apolitical, black-positive standards of fashion. The scooter scene, with its runs and Northern Soul dances, had never gone entirely away; and in the post-punk rediscovery of the past, under the influence of The Jam and Quadrophenia, it seemed a fresh and self-renewing direction for skinhead itself to go in. By 1989, this Trad scene was ripe for the injection of a cultural influence like SHARP, much as its own appearance had been symptomatic of an American internal revolution in US skinheads' attitudes to race and their own subculture. An outgrowth of SHARP,
Red and Anarchist Skinheads Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power skinheads, neo-fascists and other political racists, particularly if they identify themselves as skinheads. SHARPs aim to reclaim the original multicultura ...
(RASH), formed in the United States in 1993 against anti-gay sentiment in the nonracist skinhead community.


Image

The original logo was an American flag surrounded by the SHARP lettering. The second SHARP logo is based on the logo of Trojan Records, which originally mainly released black Jamaican ska,
rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...
, and reggae artists. Some variants of this design also incorporate the checkerboard motif of
2 Tone Records 2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records. History ...
, known for its multiracial roster of ska- and reggae-influenced bands. The way in which SHARPs dress is to project an image that looks hard and smart, in an evolving continuity with style ideals established in the middle-to-late 1960s. This style and demeanour originated from the UK, growing out of the pre-existent
Mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
movement, taking cues and influences from Jamaican Ska and Rude Boy culture. They remain true to the style's original purpose of enjoying life, clothes, attitude and music.


See also

*
Anti-Fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
* Anti-Racism * Love Music Hate Racism * Rock Against Racism *
Hardcore Skinhead Hardcore skinheads are skinheads who mainly associate with hardcore and sometimes heavy metal instead of Oi!, ska, soul or other music genres associated with the skinhead subculture. Starting in the early 1980s, there were many skinheads in th ...
*
The Oppressed The Oppressed are a Welsh Oi! band that formed in 1981 in Cardiff, Wales. Most of the musicians in the band's various lineups have been skinheads. Throughout the band's career, the members (especially vocalist Roddy Moreno) openly expressed opp ...
* Working Class


Footnotes


Further reading


Skin of a Different Color: Not every skinhead in Portland this weekend was a white supremacist (10 October 10th 2007)
* {{Skinhead Skinhead Politics and race Advocacy groups Organizations established in 1986 Anti-fascist organizations Anti-racist organizations