PSA: Not all Skinheads are racist in fact it started as a movement for working class youth of all colors!

The roots of skinhead fashion and music starts in the late 1950s in london and comes from Mods (blues loving brits in button ups, slacks and loafers with big green jackets) and Rude Boys or Rudys (jamaican reggae and ska lovers who wore button ups with boots and jeans) combining to make what were originally called “hard mods” from the wave of immigration coming in to fill the work force. They started shaving their heads and wore steel toe boots and jeans held up by braces because that was the attire that workers wore. Skinheads and Rude Boys hung around each other, danced together, worked together and even fought together. That led to prominent reggae and ska act Symarip to create “Skinhead Moonstomp” which is considered to be the solidifying mark of the combination of the two cultures. 

The early punk scene in 1977 London was made up of a lot former Skinheads and rockers which led to the creation of the genre called Oi! (Usually slower simple more chant oriented style of punk named after a classic english fighting phrase).

Around the late 1970s in britain a fascist third party called “The British Movement” was promising to put “britain first” and to give back all jobs to real brits. The party wanted strong working class youth to be leading marches and used skinheads as stormtroopers for their dirty work. As they grew increasingly impatient with their results at the polls the party started changing into a street fighting oriented gang. Fascism spread like a disease through the cult growing to all countrys and in some countries fascist skinheads were around before anti fascist ones due to them stealing the tough look. 

This led to a reaction world wide by all subcultures in their respective areas including other skinheads to fight back. Skinheads formed S.H.A.R.P (Skinheads against racial prejudice) which was a movement used to boot nazis out. The 1980s and early 90s were full of Sharps fighting the rising nationalist and white power movements in the streets. Lots of the power of the fascists in the scene was lost when many prominent nationalist figures in the music scene passing away or being put in jail all coincidently around the same time (1993 -1994). Since then its been the good ska, rocksteady and reggae loving traditional skins vs the Fascist racist bootlicking boneheads.

The skinhead name is one that has been dragged through the mud by the media using the word “skinhead” to mean any racist or nazi.

I hope reading this informs others of all good that comes from REAL skinheads and not fascist bonehead posers. remember folks : Boots And Braces dont make a racist! 

Here are some good youtube vids if you wanna learn more about skinheads:

Skinhead, a message to you.

The Baldies, skinheads fighting nazis

World of Skinhead

ANTIFA “Chasseurs de Skins”

Sorry if the links dont work im on mobile :)