Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice

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Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose neo-Nazis and other political racists, especially if those racists call themselves skinheads.

SHARPs recognize the multiracial origins of the skinhead subculture, and resent what they see as the hijacking of the skinhead name by racist extremists. Beyond the issue of anti-racism, there is no official political ideology of SHARP.

SHARP was started in New York City in 1987 by Marcus Pacheco as a way to show that the skinhead subculture is not based on racism and political extremism. André Schlesinger and the Oi! band The Press and Jason O'Toole, vocalist of the hardcore punk group Life's Blood, was among its early supporters. In 1989, Roddy Moreno of the Welsh Oi! band The Oppressed visited New York and met many SHARPs. On his return to the United Kingdom, he started promoting SHARP ideals to British skinheads. SHARP then quickly spread to Germany and throughout Europe. Since then, there have been SHARP skinheads around the world, although SHARP has become more of an individual designation than an official organization or political movement.

Although SHARP is officially non-political, some SHARPs have similar beliefs to politically-minded anti-fascist skinheads such as redskins and anarchists. Due to their anti-racist ideals, some SHARPs have been involved with groups such as Anti-Fascist Action. However, this is more based on personal beliefs, as opposed to views associated directly with SHARP.

The New York chapter of SHARP split, and some of the members formed Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH) after a group of anti-racist, but homophobic, members of SHARP assaulted a homosexual. RASH was officially launched on January 1, 1993.