ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, organizations that monitor hate groups differ on whether skinhead activity peaked during the 1990s or is entering a new growth phase by changing some of its practices. Some observers report that new skinheads operate independently, socializing in relatively small crews apparently not affiliated with larger organizations. Some racist skinhead groups organize invented traditions to bind the group, such as ceremonies marking Adolf Hitler’s birthday on April 20; the Northwest Hammerskins tried to establish “Martyr’s Day” as an annual event in Whidbey Island, Washington, in 2004, to honor Robert Matthews of the hate group called the Order who was killed at the island in a 1984 shootout with the FBI. The Southern Poverty Law Center observed in 2004 that New Jersey was a hotbed of racist skinhead activity, with active crews of Eastern Hammerskins, AC Skins, Bergen County Hooligans, and Trenton State Skinheads. The center was also concerned about an increase in the number of skinhead Web sites, reaching twenty-six in 2004, reflecting the growth of electronic communities subscribing to racist skinhead ideology and practices. While skinhead culture continues to attract teenage males in particular, it appears that skins in the twenty-first century have diverged from the working-class tradition of the movement and come from a diversity of socioeconomic backgrounds.
