history of skinheads...

Skinheads, named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, are a working-class subculture that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. The first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle.Originally, the skinhead subculture was primarily based on those elements, not politics or race.Since then, however, attitudes toward race and politics have become factors in where skinheads align themselves. The political spectrum within the skinhead scene ranges from the far right to the far left, although many skinheads remain apolitical. Fashion-wise, skinheads range from a clean-cut 1960s mod-influenced style to less-strict punk- and hardcore-influenced styles.

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Racism, anti-racism and politics
In the late 1960s, some skinheads (including black skinheads) had engaged in violence against random Pakistanis and other South Asian immigrants (an act known as Paki bashing in common slang).Although these early skinheads were not part of an organized racist movement, by the early 1970s there were skinheads who aligned themselves with the white nationalist National Front.[citation needed] However, there had also been anti-racist and leftist skinheads from the beginning, especially in areas such as Scotland and northern England. As the 1970s progressed, the racially-motivated skinhead violence in the UK became more partisan, and groups such as the National Front and the British Movement, saw a rise in skinheads among their ranks. Although many skinheads rejected political labels being applied to their subculture, some working class skinheads blamed non-white immigrants for economic and social problems, and agreed with far right organizations' positions against blacks and Asians.
By the late 1970s, some openly neo-Nazi groups were largely composed of skinheads, and by this point, the mass media, and subsequently the general public, had largely come to view skinheads exclusively as a subculture promoting white power.[citation needed] However, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, many skinheads, suedeheads, ex-skinheads and football casuals in the UK rejected the dogma of both the left and right. This anti-extremist attitude was musically typified by Oi! bands such as Cockney Rejects, The 4-Skins and The Business.
Some skinheads countered the neo-Nazi stereotype by forming anti-racist organizations, such as Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) which was founded in New York City in 1987 and spread to several other countries, and Anti-Racist Action (ARA), which started in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1988.Other less-political skinheads also spoke out against neo-Nazis and in support of traditional skinhead culture; two examples of this were the Glasgow Spy Kids in Scotland (who coined the phrase Spirit of 69), and the publishers of the Hard As Nails zine in England.[ In Latin America the skinheads are influenced by music. Although many of them do not show racial or anti-racial tendencies, many of them use the skinhead lifestyle as a refuge from poverty. In an especial case a gang of skinheads in Colombia, attacked and killed Julian Javier Prieto. The young man was stabbed to death by a gang of skinheads outside a club in northern Bogotá.