The majority of skinheads are not racists. The original skinhead subculture started in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s and had heavy British mod and Jamaican rude boy influences, including love for ska and soul music. Skinheads were not associated with an organized racist political movement until the late 1970s, when a skinhead revival in the UK included a sizable neo-nazi faction. Because of this, the mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as neo-fascist, which is not true.
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power skinheads, neo-fascists, and other political racists, particularly if they identify
… Read more themselves as skinheads. SHARPs aim to reclaim the multicultural identity of the original skinheads, hijacked in their views by white power skinheads, who they sometimes deride as "boneheads". Many people may confuse SHARP members with racists since their appearance is superficially similar. Beyond the common opposition to racism, SHARP professes no political ideology or affiliation, stressing the importance of the black Jamaican influence in the original late-1960s skinhead movement. The second SHARP logo is based on the logo of Trojan Records, which originally mainly released black Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae artists. Local SHARP groups have spread around the world in many countries.
Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH) is a left-wing anti-racist, anti-fascist skinhead group, formed in the United States in 1993. The RASH values direct action and self-defense against neo-Nazis. The movement has its origins in the multi-ethnic roots of the skinhead cultural identity. It has multiple chapters on all continents.
RASH and SHARP define themselves heavily on fashion, music, and violent opposition to white supremacist organizations. Their style of dress typically incorporates Dr. Martens boots, jeans, suspenders, bomber and Harrington jackets, short hair, and clothing produced by Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and Lonsdale. Musically, they are typically associated with punk, hardcore, oi, ska, reggae, and two-tone music genres.