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.

Hate on Display / Hammerskins

ALTERNATE NAMES: Crossed Hammers

Group Status: Active

The Hammerskins are one of the oldest hardcore racist skinhead groups in the United States and have a history of violence. Their logo and primary symbol, appropriated from Pink Floyd's "The Wall," consists of two crossed hammers, usually superimposed over a cogwheel. The symbol typically appears in red, white, and black, the colors of the Nazi flag. In some cases the hammers and cogwheel appear over a red, black and white-colored shield. In the United States, the Hammerskins differentiate themselves regionally, such as the Confederate Hammerskins and Western Hammerskins and can sport regional variations of this logo, such as a version incorporating the Confederate flag. The Hammerskins have spread to several countries outside the United States and such variants appear there, as well, often incorporating national colors or symbols.