All the symbols depicted in the hate symbols database 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, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." 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.
The upright clenched fist has long been used as a symbol (both graphically and as a hand gesture) to represent themes such as defiance, unity, and power. In the 1960s and 1970s, black nationalist groups in the United States and elsewhere often used a dark-skinned clenched fist gesture or image as a "black power" symbol. By the 1980s, white supremacists in the United States and elsewhere had appropriated this symbol, substituting a white fist. White supremacists frequently claim that they use the symbol to represent "white pride" or "white power."
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