103 Results

Aryan Nations (hand sign - Tennessee prison gang)

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: Bolts Up, Bolts to the SkyThe largest white supremacist prison gang in Tennessee is Aryan Nations (a different group than the neo-Nazi group of the same name). Aryan Nations gang members use a hand sign they sometimes refer to as "bolts up" or "bolts to the sky," consisting of forming the hand into a pistol shape and pointing it upwards or outwards. Additional Images:

ALTERNATE NAMES: Bolts Up, Bolts to the Sky

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.

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.

Hitler Salute (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

Alternate Names: Nazi Salute, Sieg Heil Salute, Fascist Salute, Roman Salute The Nazi or Hitler salute debuted in Nazi Germany in the 1920s to pay homage to Nazi leader 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…

Alternate Names: Nazi Salute, Sieg Heil Salute, Fascist Salute, Roman Salute

The Nazi or Hitler salute debuted in Nazi Germany in the 1920s to pay homage to Nazi leader 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.

The Nazi salute was one of a number of similar salutes adopted by fascist parties and movements across Europe in the interwar period. These salutes were often claimed to be based on an ancient Roman salute, but this does not appear to have been the case. However, people making such salutes today sometimes assert, typically insincerely, they are “Roman” salutes rather than “Nazi” ones. White supremacists have also adopted the term “roman,” as in “throwing a roman,” for the Nazi salute. In recent years, they have also created a typographical or emoticon version of the salute (see O-Slash Hitler Salute and Double Romans).

Ku Klux Klan (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

From its beginnings in the 1860s, the Ku Klux Klan has employed a variety of salutes and hand signs both public and private. Most of the hand signs and gestures used by the first and second Ku Klux Klans have fallen by the wayside over the years, except for the Klan salute, which dates back to 1915. It resembles a Nazi salute (which some Klan members will also use), except that it is performed with the left arm. Often Klan members will separate the fingers of their hand when making the salute …

Peckerwood (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

The term "peckerwood" originated as a racial epithet directed at whites. Today, it has been adopted by adherents of the white supremacist prison gang subculture, especially in southern and western states, to refer to themselves. The handsign for "peckerwood" consists of forming the thumb, index finger and middle finger of one hand to form the letter "P," and the four fingers of the other hand to form the letter "W." This is especially common in California, where peckerwood street…

Peckerwood Midwest

Hate Symbol

Peckerwood Midwest is a white supremacist gang based primarily in Missouri, active both in prisons and on the streets. The gang's "patch" tattoo consists of a diamond-shaped swastika inside a larger Iron Cross. Inside the swastika are SS bolts; outside the Iron Cross are the numbers 23/16.

Solid Wood Soldiers

Hate Symbol

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.

ALTERNATE NAMES:

SS (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

In the 2000s, white supremacists created a handsign intended to memorialize the Schutzstaffeln or SS of Nazi Germany, Hitler's secret police, political army, and concentration camp guards. The handsign utilizes both hands to make a lightning bolt symbol, as a pair of lightning bolts was the main symbol of the SS. Additional Images:

Supreme White Alliance (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

The Supreme White Alliance is a hardcore racist skinhead gang based primarily in the Midwest. Members sometimes use a two-handed handsign in which four fingers from one hand and three fingers from the other hand are used to represent the number 43. The gang uses 43 as a numeric symbol because the alphanumeric equivalents of the gang's initials (19 for S, 23 for W, and 1 for A), when added together, equal 43.

Vinlanders Social Club (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

The handsign used by the Vinlanders Social Club, a racist skinhead gang, consists of holding up the first, second, and fourth fingers of one hand.

Volksfront (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

Members of the white supremacist group Volksfront have used several handsigns to represent their gang. A common one-handed sign features the fingers of the right hand divided into a "V" shape, often held over the chest. A two-handed sign uses one hand to make a "V" shape (using two or four fingers) and the other hand to make the shape of the letter "F."

ADL Honors Merck CEO Kenneth C. Frazier with 2020 "Courage Against Hate" Award

Press Release

New York, NY, November 8, 2020 ... ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) announced today that Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman and CEO of Merck & Co., Inc. is this year’s recipient of ADL’s Courage Against Hate Award for using his platform to speak out on behalf of marginalized communities and serving as an exemplary role model for corporate leadership. Frazier is a leader who has demonstrated that the business community has a responsibility to make the world better for…

November 08, 2020

Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg; One officer indicted after investigation into shooting of Breonna Taylor; Zoom cancels Leila Khaled webinar

Article

September 26, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The nation continues to mourn the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights. The late Justice will be the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday. A grand jury in Jefferson County, Ky., has indicted a former Louisville police detective on three charges of wanton endangerment in the March shooting that resulted in the death of 26-year…

September 26, 2020

Books Matter™: The Power of Children's Literature

Article

Anyone who has ever read to or with a child—parent, family member, teacher or friend—knows books leave lasting impressions. Beyond the educational benefits, books have the power to instill empathy, affirm, teach, transport and inspire action. Books matter. EmpathyIn exposing children to other people’s stories and the motivations and feelings behind those narratives, children begin to connect with others on an emotional level, which is the foundation for bridging differences…

May 03, 2022

Nearly Two Dozen A-List Celebrities Join Instagram Freeze After Civil Rights Groups in "Stop Hate for Profit" Coalition Launch Latest Action

Press Release

Dozens of influencers expected to join 24-Hour Instagram “Freeze” on Wednesday New York, NY, September 15, 2020 ... Nearly two dozen A-list Hollywood celebrities have signed on to the call by Stop Hate for Profit, a coalition of civil rights organizations and advocacy groups, that was issued yesterday, asking a one-day moratorium from posting on Instagram in protest of Facebook’s repeated failures to address hate speech and election disinformation on their platforms. …

September 15, 2020

National Hispanic Heritage Month: Ideas for Educators

Tools and Strategies

U.S. Army South Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month Flags

National Hispanic Heritage Month honors the achievements, contributions, culture, and history of Hispanic and Latin American people. The month-long celebration begins on September 15 commemorating the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. The 2025 theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month…

May 03, 2022

ADL Statement on the 57th Anniversary of the March on Washington

Press Release

New York, NY, August 28, 2020 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) issued the following statement on the 57th Anniversary of the March on Washington, and in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin: On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered what would become one of the most influential speeches in history, proclaiming to the world, ‘I have a dream.’ The March on…

August 28, 2020

Civil rights probe launched into shooting of Jacob Blake; Antisemitic sign hung on LA overpass; NAACP takes action after Philly president’s antisemitic Facebook post

Article

August 28, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Federal investigators announced that they have launched a civil rights probe into the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A sign with the phrase “The Jews Want A Race War” was hung from the heavily trafficked Los Angeles interstate 405 highway overpass on Saturday. The NAACP will replace all leadership of its Philadelphia chapter — including its president, Minister Rodney Muhammad —…

August 28, 2020

ADL Mourns the Loss of Civil Rights Icon and True American Hero Rep. John Lewis

Press Release

New York, New York, July 18, 2020 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today mourns the loss of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, an iconic leader who played a pivotal role in the events of the Civil Rights Era, from the Freedom Rides, to Bloody Sunday, to the March on Washington, where he delivered one of the keynote addresses at the age of 23 as the youngest speaker to take the stage. Congressman Lewis repeatedly and bravely risked his life to promote the philosophy of political nonviolence…

July 18, 2020