Hate on Display™ Hate Symbols Database

This database provides an overview of many of the symbols most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist groups and movements, as well as some other types of hate groups.

214 Results

European Kindred (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

The European Kindred is a large white supremacist prison gang based primarily in Oregon. Gang members often use a two-handed hand sign in which three fingers of one hand are spread to look like an E and two fingers of another hand are spread to resemble a K.

Fasces

Hate Symbol

Fasces are an ancient Roman symbol for authority and government coopted by Mussolini’s Fascist movement in Italy. Some white supremacists in the United States have recently adopted the symbol both because of its fascist connections and because it is more publicly acceptable than the swastika.

Featherwood

Hate Symbol

The term "featherwood" derives from the related term "peckerwood," a word that evolved from an old racial epithet directed at whites to a term used to refer to people associated with the racist prison gang subculture. A featherwood is the female equivalent of a (male) peckerwood. Featherwoods can sometimes be members of racist prison gangs (and, in California, of related peckerwood street gangs) but are more often associates of such gangs, often girlfriends or wives of gang members. The term…

FGRN

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: For God, Race and NationFGRN is a Ku Klux Klan acronym for "For God, Race and Nation," a common Klan slogan. It is one of a number of slogans, codes and rituals created by the Second Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century. That Klan did not survive, but many of its codes and rituals were adopted by later Klan groups. In acronym form, the slogan is used primarily as a Klan identifier, typically appended at the end of on-line messages and postings. Additional Images:

ALTERNATE NAMES: For God, Race and Nation

Firm 22

Hate Symbol

Firm 22 is the name used by the Vinlanders Social Club, a racist skinhead group, to refer to supporters and associates of the group who are not actually members. The number 22 stands for the letter V.

Free America Rally

Hate Symbol

Free America Rally is a loosely-coordinated network of white supremacists who hold protests and rallies on white supremacist-related themes. The logo for Free America Rally is an amalgam of several runic symbols in the center of a laurel wreath.

Georgia Aryan Brotherhood

Hate Symbol

The Georgia Aryan Brotherhood is a racist prison gang based in Georgia. It has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood (present in the California and federal prison systems). Some members sport a "shield" tattoo, but many also use a wide variety of more generic Aryan Brotherhood symbology.

German Phrases

Hate Symbol

It is common for white supremacists in the United States and elsewhere to use German words or phrases, or to create German-like equivalents of English words and phrases. This is most common among neo-Nazis and racist skinheads, but can be seen to some degree across all white supremacist movements. Some of the terms derive from the the Third Reich, while others are more modern in origin. Common examples include phrases such as "Weiss Macht" or "Weisser Macht" (White Power), "Weiss Junge" or …

German Soldier

Hate Symbol

Since World War II, neo-Nazis and some other white supremacists have adopted the image of a World War II-era German soldier as a symbol. In particular, images of Waffen SS soldiers (perceived as Hitler's elite "supermen") are popular. A popular variation is a tattoo depicting a Viking warrior, a Waffen SS soldier, and a racist skinhead side by side; such images associate the modern racist skinhead with his perceived "white warrior" forebears. Additional Images:

Golden State Solidarity

Hate Symbol

Golden State Solidarity (also known as Golden State Skinheads) is a California-based racist skinhead group. Their most common symbol consists of a red-and-white Waffen SS divisional shield containing an Iron Cross and a red star. Sometimes instead of appearing in a shield, these items appear in an image in the shape of California.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Golden State Skinheads

GTKRWN

Hate Symbol

GTKRWN is an acronym for a racist and antisemitic slogan created by white supremacists: “Gas the Kikes; Race War Now.”

ALTERNATE NAMES: GTK

H8

Hate Symbol

White supremacists use the letter/number combination H8 to mean "hate." This usage dates back at least to the 1990s and may originally derive from the punk subculture, but it has become more common in recent years, with the spread of text-message abbreviations. Common motifs for the word include playing cards and billiards balls. Additional Images:

Hammerskin (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

The handsign of the Hammerskins, a racist skinhead group, consists of two crossed forearms emulating the "crossed hammers" of the Hammerskins logo.

Hammerskins

Hate Symbol

The Hammerskins are a large racist skinhead gang with a history of violence. Their logo consists of two crossed hammers, typically superimposed over a cogwheel.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Crossed Hammers

Hate

Hate Symbol

It is common for white supremacists to deny being racists or to claim to that the groups to which they belong are not hate groups, but in fact the word "hate" itself is commonly used as a white supremacist symbol for tattoos and clothing. Many white supremacists use the word to openly proclaim their hatred of people unlike them. It is particularly common as a tattoo across the fingers of a hand. Additional Images:

Hate Edge

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: NS Straight EdgeHate Edge (also known as NS or National Socialist Straight Edge) is a small white supremacist offshoot of the non-racist Straight Edge movement, which emerged from the punk subculture in the 1980s. Straight Edgers eschew drugs, alcohol, meat, and often casual sex. The most common Straight Edge symbols are "sXe" or "XXX." Hate Edgers tend to appropriate these symbols but often add white supremacist twists or enhancements. In Europe, the term National…

ALTERNATE NAMES: NS Straight Edge

Hated, The

Hate Symbol

The Hated is a racist skinhead group active in New Jersey, Florida, and elsewhere. Members use a variety of symbols but one of the most common is a white fist inside a cogwheel, with the number 14 and the words The Hated on the outside.

HFFH

Hate Symbol

HFFH is an acronym used by the Hammerskins, a large racist skinhead gang. It stands for "Hammerskins Forever, Forever Hammerskins," a format probably adopted from biker gangs. Additional Images:

Hitler Salute (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi SaluteThe Nazi or Hitler salute debuted in Nazi Germany in the 1930s as a way to pay homage to Adolf Hitler. It consists of raising an outstretched right arm with the palm down. In Nazi Germany, it was often accompanied by chanting or shouting "Heil Hitler" or "Sieg Heil." Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have continued to use the salute, making it the most common white supremacist hand sign in the world. Additional Images:

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi Salute

HSN

Hate Symbol

Group Status: Active HSN is an acronym used by the Hammerskins, a large racist skinhead gang. It stands for "Hammerskin Nation," which is a collective reference to the various regional Hammerskin gangs such as the Confederate Hammerskins, Western Hammerskins, etc. Additional Images:

Are we missing something?

Submit a Hate Symbol to ADL at hate-symbols@adl.org

All the symbols depicted here must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, the Confederate Flag is a symbol that is frequently used by white supremacists but which also has been used by people and groups that are not racist. Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.

Hate on Display is a trademark of the Anti-Defamation League.