What is symbol of black power?

Answer 1

Raised fist

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Painted symbol of the Power FistThis article is about the salute and symbol. For the Swedish band, see Raised Fist."Black fist" redirects here. For the film, see Black Fist (film).

The raised fist (also known as the clenched fist) is a salute and logo most often used by leftist activists, such as: Marxists, anarchists, communists, pacifists, trade unionists, and black nationalists. The raised fist is usually regarded as an expression of solidarity, strength or defiance.

Contents[hide]

• 1 Logo
• 2 Salute
• 3 Groups that have used the symbol
• 4 See also
• 5 External links
• 6 Notes

LogoStencilled symbol of the autonomist movement Autonome

Clenched fist symbol of the northern soul movement

The raised fist logo may represent unity or solidarity, generally with oppressed peoples. This symbolism may have sprung from usage by trade unions. The black fist, also known as the Black Power fist is a logo generally associated with black nationalism and sometimes socialism. Its most widely-known usage is by the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. A black fist logo was also adopted by the northern soul music subculture. The white fist, also known as the Aryan fist or the White Power fist is a logo generally associated with white nationalism.

A white fist holding a red rose is used by the Socialist International and some socialist or social democratic parties. Loyalists in Northern Ireland occasionally use a clenched fist on murals depicting the Red Hand of Ulster. However, this is considered rare; the red hand is usually depicted with a flat palm.

SaluteAfrican American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos perform a Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

The raised fist salute consists of raising one arm with a clenched fist, at an angle of 90 degrees or greater. Different movements sometimes use different terms to describe the raised fist salute: amongst communists and socialists, it is sometimes called the red salute, whereas amongst black rights activists, especially in the United States of America it has been called the Black Power salute. During the Spanish Civil War, it was sometimes known as the anti-fascist salute. A woman raises her fist during the February 15, 2003 anti-war protest in San Francisco.

The traditional version of the salute, originally a symbol of the broader workers' movement, became associated with the parties of the Comintern during the 1920s and 1930s. Since the Trotskyists were forced out of the Comintern, some Trotskyists have made a point of strictly raising the left fist in the tradition of the Left Opposition. Some anarchists also prefer the left fist to denote their libertarian socialist opposition to Marxism.

The clenched fist gesture is sometimes mistakenly thought to have originated in the Spanish Civil War, where the Popular Front salute was at one time the standard salute of Republican forces. A letter from the Spanish Civil War stated: "...the raised fist which greets you in Salud is not just a gesture-it means life and liberty being fought for and a greeting of solidarity with the democratic peoples of the world."[1]

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, medal winners John Carlos and Tommie Smith gave the raised fist salute during the American national anthem as a sign of black power, and as a protest on behalf of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. For this, they were banned from further Olympic activities.

Groups that have used the symbolOfficial symbol of Socialist International.

• Albanian National Liberation Front
• American Indian Movement
• Anarchist Black Cross
• Black Panther Party
• Earth First!
• Women's Liberation
• Food Not Bombs
• International Brigades
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• Italian Radical Party
• Jewish Defense League
• Kach
• Labour Representation Committee (2004)
• National Equality March
• Otpor
• Rage Against the Machine
• Raised Fist
• Red Army[citation needed]
• Red Front Fighters' League
• Saor Éire (1967-1975)
• Socialist International
• Socialist Party of England and Wales
• Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
• Socialist Youth Front
• United Farm Workers
• Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front

See also

• 1968 Olympics Black Power salute
• Protests of 1968
• Lal Salam

External links

• A brief history of the 'clenched fist' image
• Bitter price of Olympics' iconic image - from Los Angeles Daily News
• India Faces Maoist 'Red Salute' - from BBC World News
• Aryan Fist article - from the Anti-Defamation League
• Race row over 'Black Power' statue from Mail Online News

Notes

1. ^ Rolfe, Mary. Letter to Leo Hurwitz and Janey Dudley, 25 November 1938. Reprinted in Cary Nelson and Jefferson Hendricks, eds. "Madrid 1937: Letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade from the Spanish Civil War," Routledge: 1996. Reprinted online [1]

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