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 This article is about the salute and symbol. For the Swedish band, see Raised Fist. 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.
[edit] Logo  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. [edit] Salute 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.  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 barred from further Olympic activities. [edit] Groups that have used the symbol.svg)
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[edit] Notes
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