A Short Introduction to Skinheads - A History of Anti-Racist Action

Regardless of the majority of public opinion and of the bullshit spread by the mainstream media, the undeniable truth is that real Skinheads are not racist. The view that Skinheads are connected to the far-right became common because of the hi-jacking of the Skinhead movement by Nazi organizations such as the NF (National Front) and the BM (British Movement), and of the refusal of the media to give real Skinheads a voice.
Far from the fascist orientations that the newspapers and Hollywood would have you believe the reality is that the Skinhead movement was created by the integration of the British Mod and Jamaican Rude Boy subcultures. The immigration boom of the sixties forged the black and white working-class youth of the UK together, who alienated by the predominantly middle-class hippie scene, founded their own movement based around the influx of Reggae music that was pouring into the UK at that time. The boots and shaved heads acted as a sign of rebellion, although there were also practical reasons such as working and fighting. The tragic irony is that, despite suffering from a racist and xenophobic stereotype, Skinheads are a product of immigration...
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