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: Imperial War Ensign, ReichskriegsflaggeBecause Germany has banned use of the swastika and other Nazi imagery, some German neo-Nazis use an older flag, taken from Imperial Germany, as a substitute for the Nazi flag. The imperial flag never originally had any racist or anti-Semitic meaning. Although most common in Germany, this usage of the imperial flag can also be found elsewhere in Europe and in the United States. Additional Images:

Learn how white supremacists adopted the neo-Nazi Iron Cross, and the new meanings (both positive and negative) that came from the new adaptation.

The hood and robes of Ku Klux Klan members are the most visible Klan symbol of all. Read about the history and current meanings behind the Klan’s robes.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Elhaz Rune, Algis RuneNazi Germany appropriated many pre-Roman European symbols, such as runic symbols, in an attempt to glorify an idealized "Aryan/Norse" heritage. One of these was the so-called "life rune" (from the German Lebensrune), also known as the Elhaz or Algis rune. Elhaz means "elk" and in early Europe this symbol had meanings related to stags or hunting, as well as honor, nobility, or protection. The Nazis used the symbol in various contexts, including the SS's…

"Love Your Race" is a white supremacist slogan originally popularized by the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In white supremacist literature and fliers, the phrase is often accompanied by an idealized image of a beautiful and/or maternal white woman. It is often used as an indirect means of promoting the so-called "Fourteen Words" slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Additional Images:

White supremacists fear and hate the concept of multiracial couples, relationships or families, believing that such relationships "pollute" the "pure" white race. As a result, a fairly common white supremacist symbol depicts a multiracial couple or family, with a red circle/bar superimposed over the depiction, indicating that such relationships ought to be prohibited. Additional Images:

The hangman's noose has come to be one of the most powerful visual symbols directed against African-Americans, comparable in the emotions that it evokes to that of the swastika for Jews. Its origins are connected to the history of lynching in America, particularly in the South after the Civil War, when violence or threat of violence replaced slavery as one of the main forms of social control that whites used on African-Americans. The noose quickly became associated with the Ku Klux Klan. …

The "Northwest American Republic" is a fictional construct created by Harold Covington, a long-time fringe figure in the neo-Nazi movement. It is based on the so-called "Northwest Imperative," a longstanding call by some white supremacists for White people to move to the Pacific Northwest and establish their own country.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Othal Rune, Othila Rune, Odal Rune, Norse RuneThe othala rune is part of the runic alphabet system, a system of writing used (with many variations) across pre-Roman Europe. In the 20th century, Nazis in Germany adopted the othal rune, among many other similar symbols, as part of their attempt to reconstruct a mythic "Aryan" past. Nazi uses of the symbol included the divisional insignia of two Waffen SS divisions during World War II. Following World War II, white supremacists…

ALTERNATE NAMES: Wood, Woodpile, PWThe word "peckerwood" originated as an African-American slang term for "woodpecker" in the 1800s, but by the early 1900s began to be applied as a racial epithet against whites, with a meaning similar to the term "white trash." In the second half of the 20th century, in prison environments in Texas, California, and possibly elsewhere, the word peckerwood, originally used to refer to white prisoners generally, began to develop a more specific association with…

Pepe the Frog is a popular internet meme used in a variety of contexts. In recent years it has also been appropriated by white supremacists, particularly those from the "alt right," who use in racist, antisemitic or other hateful contexts.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Phinehas PriesthoodThe concept of the Phineas Priesthood (or Phinehas Priesthood) comes from a 1990 book by white supremacist and Christian Identity follower Richard Kelly Hoskins, Vigilantes of Christendom: The Story of the Phineas Priesthood. Christian Identity is a racist and anti-Semitic sect whose adherents believe that white people are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. In his book, Hoskins describes a continuous priesthood of "avengers" who, throughout the…

The pit bull has long been used as a skinhead symbol, presumably because of its reputation as a "fighting" dog. Many racist skinheads and other white supremacists own or even raise pit bulls. White supremacists use one specific pit bulll graphic so often that it has become a white supremacist symbol itself. One racist skinhead group, the Keystone State Skinheads (at one time known as Keystone United) even adopted it as part of their logo. Additional Images:

RAHOWA is an acronym for "Racial Holy War," a term created by the Creativity Movement, a white supremacist pseudo-religion, as a rallying cry for the white supremacist cause.

ROA is an acronym for the white supremacist slogan "Race Over All," popularized by the neo-Nazi/racist skinhead gang Volksfront. Additional Images:

ALTERNATE NAMES: RACRock Against Communism (RAC) is a euphemism used to refer to several types of white power/hate music (typically Oi! or hatecore punk). Despite its name, RAC more often than not contains no references to "Communism" at all, but focuses on racism and anti-Semitism. The term emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after rock music promoters in Great Britain put on a series of "Rock against Racism" concerts. In response, various white supremacist bands led by Ian Stuart and…

Runic alphabets are pre-Roman alphabets used widely across Europe, easily recognizable because of their angular characters. There are many different varieties of runic alphabets, of which the most well known is the so-called Elder Futhark (the name is derived from the sounds of the first six characters). Runic alphabets are still used today in many mainstream and non-racist contexts. However, white supremacists have also appropriated the runic alphabet, in large part because Nazi Germany often…

Skrewdriver, long defunct, is the British white power music band that essentially created white power music as a genre. The band, and its deceased leader, Ian Stuart Donaldson, remain held in the highest esteem by white supremacists.

The Solid Wood Soldiers are a Texas-based white supremacist prison gang. Their primary tattoo consists of the initials SWS, with the two S's represented by lightning bolts. Above the initials appears the image of a bear claw, with the number 4 in the middle and sometimes the letters HCRL.