Hate on Display™ Hate Symbols Database

This database provides an overview of many of the symbols most frequently used by white supremacist groups and movements, as well as a variety of other groups and movements. It is one of ADL's many resources related to signs, symbols and codes which also include an antizionist hate resource, a coded hate resource and the memetic violence field guide.

All the symbols depicted here must be evaluated in the context in which they appear. Few symbols represent just one idea or are used exclusively by one group. For example, 100% is often used as an amount or an expression and it is also used by some by some white supremacists as shorthand for "100% white." Similarly, other symbols in this database may be significant to people who are not extreme or racist. The descriptions here point out significant multiple meanings but may not be able to relay every possible meaning of a particular symbol.

233 Results

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Keystone State Skinheads

Hate Symbol

The Keystone State Skinheads are a regional racist skinhead gang based in Pennsylvania, especially eastern Pennsylvania. Their logo consists of an image of the head of a pitbull superimposed over a keystone colored red, white, and black (the colors of the Nazi flag).

ALTERNATE NAMES: Keystone United, KSS

KIGY

Hate Symbol

KIGY is Ku Klux Klan shorthand for "Klansman I Greet You." It is one of many acronyms developed by the Second Ku Klux Klan that emerged in 1915. Although the Second Ku Klux Klan did not survive, much of its terminology and many of its rituals did, and later Klan groups freely used them. Additional Images:

KLASP

Hate Symbol

KLASP is a Ku Klux Klan acronym for "Klannish Loyalty, A Sacred Principle." It is one of many Klan acronyms created by the Second Ku Klux Klan that emerged in 1915. That Klan did not survive, but subsequent Ku Klux Klan groups continued many of its rituals and codes. Today, KLASP has no real meaning or particular purpose and is typically used by Klan group members in on-line messages or posts solely as a way to identify themselves with the Ku Klux Klan. This has been the fate of a number of…

Ku Klux Klan (hand sign)

Hate Symbol

From its beginnings in the 1860s, the Ku Klux Klan has employed a variety of salutes and hand signs both public and private. Most of the hand signs and gestures used by the first and second Ku Klux Klans have fallen by the wayside over the years, except for the Klan salute, which dates back to 1915. It resembles a Nazi salute (which some Klan members will also use), except that it is performed with the left arm. Often Klan members will separate the fingers of their hand when making the salute …

Ku Klux Klan Robes

Hate Symbol

The hood and robes of Ku Klux Klan members are the most visible Klan symbol of all. Read about the history and current meanings behind the Klan’s robes.

League of the South

Hate Symbol

The League of the South is a longstanding neo-Confederate white supremacist group that advocates for an independent, white-dominated South. Its symbol is intended to resemble the St. Andrew’s Cross on the Confederate flag.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Southern Nationalist Flag, Black Cross

Life Rune

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: Elhaz Rune, Algis RuneNazi Germany appropriated many pre-Roman European symbols, such as runic symbols, in an attempt to glorify an idealized "Aryan/Norse" heritage. One of these was the so-called "life rune" (from the German Lebensrune), also known as the Elhaz or Algis rune. Elhaz means "elk" and in early Europe this symbol had meanings related to stags or hunting, as well as honor, nobility, or protection. The Nazis used the symbol in various contexts, including the SS's…

ALTERNATE NAMES: Elhaz Rune, Algis Rune

LOTIE

Hate Symbol

LOTIE is a Ku Klux Klan abbreviation for a "Lady Of The Invisible Empire," i.e., a female Klan member. It is one of many codes, phrases and rituals created by the Second Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century. The Second Klan did not survive, but later Klan groups adopted many such codes and rituals, including LOTIE. Additional Images:

Love Your Race

Hate Symbol

"Love Your Race" is a white supremacist slogan originally popularized by the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In white supremacist literature and fliers, the phrase is often accompanied by an idealized image of a beautiful and/or maternal white woman. It is often used as an indirect means of promoting the so-called "Fourteen Words" slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Additional Images:

Meine Ehre Heisst Treue

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: My Honor Is Loyalty, My Honor is Called Loyalty, Unser Ehre Heisst Treue"Meine Ehre Heisst Treue" is a German phrase that translates roughly to "My Honor Is Loyalty." In Nazi Germany, the Waffen SS (the military wing of the SS) used this phrase as a motto; it is a reference to the organization's loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists around the world use this German phrase (or its equivalent in English or other languages) as a hate…

ALTERNATE NAMES: My Honor Is Loyalty, My Honor is Called Loyalty, Unser Ehre Heisst Treue

Mississippi Aryan Brotherhood

Hate Symbol

The Mississippi Aryan Brotherhood is a large racist prison gang based in the Mississippi state prison system. Despite the similarity of its name, it has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood, based in California and the federal prison systems. The logo of the Mississippi Aryan Brotherhood consists of a highly-stylized rendition of a combined A and B.

Moon Man

Hate Symbol

“Moon Man” is a meme derived from a character in 1980s McDonald’s restaurant commercials that was appropriated by white supremacists, especially from the alt right, who attach it to racist songs, language and imagery.

Muh Holocaust

Hate Symbol

“Muh Holocaust” is an antisemitic phrase popular with the alt right used to convey the bigoted notion that Jews routinely bring up the Holocaust to gain attention or to deflect negative attention.

National Alliance

Hate Symbol

The National Alliance was the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States in the 1990s but today is only a bare shadow of its former self.

National Rebirth of Poland

Hate Symbol

The National Rebirth of Poland (Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski) is a Nazi-like right-wing extremist group based in Poland that has some followers in the United States.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski

National Socialist Legion

Hate Symbol

The National Socialist Legion is a small neo-Nazi group that originated in 2018. Its logo features a red, black and white shield with stripes and a Wolfsangel.

National Socialist Movement

Hate Symbol

The National Socialist Movement, though relatively small, is currently the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States.

ALTERNATE NAMES: NSM

Nazi Eagle

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi War EagleThe Nazi Eagle is a symbol developed originally by the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1920s (also becoming a symbol of the German government after the Nazis took power), based loosely on traditional German coats of arms. Following World War II, the symbol was appropriated by neo-Nazis and other white supremacists worldwide, with many variations. The symbol originally featured an eagle clutching a swastika, but many variations replace the swastika with some other…

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi War Eagle

Nazi Low Riders

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: NLRThe Nazi Low Riders are a California-based prison and street gang with origins dating back to the 1970s and a long history of violence and criminal activity. Though members may use a variety of different tattoos and symbols, one of the most common is simply their name, or the initials NLR, often displayed in an Old English-style script. Such tattoos frequently appear on necks and abdomens. Additional Images:

ALTERNATE NAMES: NLR

Nazi Party Flag

Hate Symbol

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi FlagThe flag of Nazi Germany has become one of the most potent hate symbols worldwide. It consists of a black swastika in a white circle over a red background (the colors are the same as the Imperial German flag). Originally developed as the flag of the Nazi Party in 1920, it also became the flag of Germany itself after the Nazis took power in 1933. Various elements of the Nazi government and Nazi Party developed many variations and forms of the basic Nazi flag. Since…

ALTERNATE NAMES: Nazi Flag

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