The American Front was a white power skinhead organization, which was started in the mid-1980s in San Francisco, California by Bob Heick, aka "Nazi Bob", aka "Bob Blitz". White power skinheads are a racist, and often also anti-semitic, offshoot of the Skinhead Subculture that originated in Great Britain The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.
The American Front began as a loose organization modeled after Britain's National Front, which attempted to merge the skinhead subculture with white power politics. A skinhead is a member of a Subculture that originated among Working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and then spread to other parts of For the term in biology see Subculture (biology. For the song by New Order see Sub-culture (song. White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups. Heick was known for terrorizing the San Francisco punk and anarchist scenes. The punk subculture is based around Punk rock. It emerged from the larger Rock music scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i This climaxed with Heick and his friend breaking the windows of a Haight Street anarchist bookstore, Bound Together Books. Haight Street, in San Francisco, is perhaps best known as the principal street in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury, aka the Upper Haight district
Heick began working with Tom Metzger's White Aryan Resistance in 1988 after gaining notice for holding the Third Positionist themed "White Workers Day Parade", on May 1 1988. The White Aryan Resistance ( WAR) is a Neo-Nazi White supremacist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger Though Heick was never an official member of W. A. R. , Metzger promoted Heick as a youth spokesman for the movement.
Heick and the American Front gained notoriety by being a thorn in the side of artist Boyd Rice. Boyd Blake Rice (born July or December 1956 is an American experimental sound artist under the monicker of NON since the mid-1970s Archivist, Actor Heick and Rice posed in American Front uniforms for an article on neo-Nazis in Sassy Magazine. The term neo-Nazism refers to post- World War II Political movements Social movements and ideologies seeking to revive Nazism, Sassy Magazine is a defunct cult fave Teen magazine. It was founded in March 1988 by an Australian Feminist, Sandra Yates Rice claims he was never really a member of the American Front, but he liked the dynamic character of Heick. Hieck moved with his family to Portland, Oregon were he has since not been actively involved in the Front since the mid 90s.
Contents |
History
Origins
In 1985, after years of associating with peers of all races (including an Asian American girlfriend) and changing his nickname from Bob Nohawk to Bob Blitz, Bob Heick began writing and distributing original leaflets on various topics mostly from a nationalist anti-communist stance in response to the increasing leftist influence in the local punk subculture. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and The punk subculture is based around Punk rock. It emerged from the larger Rock music scene in the mid-to-late-1970s in the United Kingdom, the United After a window-breaking incident at Bound Together Books, the anarchist collective that ran the store used the original American Front flyer as part of a press release listing several alleged skinhead crimes committed in the Haight-Ashbury district. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i A collective is a group of people who share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together on a specific project(s to achieve a common objective A skinhead is a member of a Subculture that originated among Working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and then spread to other parts of Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, US, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury Streets The press release triggered a week-long flurry of media attention on white power skinheads, beginning with the San Francisco Examiner headline "Thugs Terrorize Haight". White power skinheads are a racist, and often also anti-semitic, offshoot of the Skinhead Subculture that originated in Great Britain The San Francisco Examiner is a US daily Newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since TV and radio outlets followed suit.
Originally intended as a banner organization for all American skinheads, regardless of local group (i. e. Bay Area Skin Heads, S. F Skins, North Side Firm), the American Front had no formal structure or membership. Some skinheads from Southern California began using the name in a gang context, which was very common in the Los Angeles punk scene. Southern California, or So Cal, is defined as the southern portion of the U Gangsters redirects here For the computer game see Gangsters (video game. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West That faction of the American Front was completely independent of Heick after 1985, and spread to other cities, partly due to members who were in the Military of the United States. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States In San Francisco, Heick lost favor with the mostly-apolitical skinheads. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The media attention and constant vandalism brought increased attention from the local police. Vandalism is the behaviour attributed to the Vandals in respect of Culture: ruthless Destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or Venerable In addition, Heick's progression from patriotism to Nazism lost him many friends, and some people accused him of trying to take over the local skinhead scene. Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Heick changed direction, associating with heavy metal music fans and redneck types. Redneck refers to a Stereotype of usually Rural, Caucasian (i He formed the short-lived group United White Brethren in the North and South Bay Areas.
Transformation into political group
Upon his return to San Francisco in 1987, Heick found the newer generation of local skinheads to be more receptive to Nazi ideology, and that Nazism had become fashionable in some circles. It was at this time that the American Front transformed into a political organization, and its membership was no longer exclusively comprised of skinheads. On May 1, 1988, The American Front held its first White Workers Day march on Haight Street in San Francisco. Haight Street, in San Francisco, is perhaps best known as the principal street in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury, aka the Upper Haight district The 65 mostly skinhead participants marched unopposed from "Skinhead Hill" in Buena Vista Park to Golden Gate Park. Buena Vista Park is a Park in the Haight-Ashbury and Buena Vista Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, California, United States Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco California, is a large Urban park consisting of 1017 acres (4 This was heralded by Tom Metzger of White Aryan Resistance on his telephone hotline, in the WAR newspaper, and on TV; due to the promotion of a Third Positionist agenda that was favored by both the A. Thomas Linton Metzger (born April 9 1938 is the founder of the White Aryan Resistance. The White Aryan Resistance ( WAR) is a Neo-Nazi White supremacist organization founded and led by former Ku Klux Klan leader Tom Metzger Third Position is the name applied to a nationalist political strand that seeks to emphasise its opposition to both Communism and Capitalism. F. and W. A. R. at the time (as opposed to a Nazi or Ku Klux Klan approach the latter of which Metzger was desperately trying to shed). Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are The American Front tabloid Aryan Warrior was published soon after, and had the minor distinction of being the first white nationalist newspaper to be laid out on a laser printer. White nationalism is a political Ideology which advocates a racial definition (or redefinition of national identity for White people, in opposition to A laser printer is a common type of Computer printer that rapidly produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper Metzger began referring media to Heick as a spokesman for white power skinheads, even over members of his own group, such as his former youth spokesman Dave Mazella (who later testified against Metzger in his 1990 Portland, Oregon civil trial)
Around that time, the American Front gained a lot of local and national media exposure. White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups. Heick appeared on the news magazine show The Reporters, which focused mainly on Heick and included news footage of the Mayday march. The Reporters is a Newsmagazine show aired by FOX Television in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons Articles in publications such as Rolling Stone, Hustler, and Sassy Magazine featured the American Front. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published Hustler is a monthly pornographic Magazine aimed at heterosexual men and published in the United States. Sassy Magazine is a defunct cult fave Teen magazine. It was founded in March 1988 by an Australian Feminist, Sandra Yates Of all media appearances, none gained as much attention as the "Young Hate Mongers" episode of Geraldo, which led to Geraldo Rivera's famous nose-breaking incident.
By 1989, there were American Front units in 14 US states. However, there was little support in San Francisco, the birthplace of the organization. Mayday 1989 saw an American Front march at San Francisco City Hall. To avoid facing a strong counter-protest, the American Front alerted the media about the event at the last minute. This ploy backfired, giving the AF zero media coverage for the demonstration, which was only witnessed by police and homeless people who congregate in the area.
Aryan Woodstock
Heick tried to organize a concert of white power bands in a small town in Northern California. Northern California is the northern portion of the US state of California. The venue canceled when they found out it was being sponsored by the American Front. Soon after, a local supporter informed Heick that he knew of a doctor who owned numerous acres of land. Heick began the initial planning of the event, but was pushed aside by Tom Metzger, and the concert became a White Aryan Resistance event instead of an American Front event. Heick and Metzger disagreed on almost every facet of the planning of the festival, including the name, Aryan Woodstock. Heick disagreed with Metzger's promotion of the event on his Aryan Update phone hotline, because the hotline was monitored by anti-racist activists, and would give them time to organize against the event. The undoing of the festival lay in the permit. A WAR activist with a legal background undertook the task of securing the required permits. After speaking with three different bureaucrats, he was told that no permit would be required to play live music at a private event on private land, as long as sanitation was provided for.
During the two weeks leading up to Aryan Woodstock, the event was a leading local news story. Both Heick and Metzger were seen attending city council meetings filled with community groups and protestors. The county sought an injunction to block the gathering, and Heick appeared before Judge William Snowden to defend AF and WAR's right to assemble. Judge Snowden ruled that the gathering may take place, but there could be no music. Roughly 300 people from across the United States made it onto the property before the landowner, Howard Londsale, caved to police pressure and allowed the authorities to close off the entrance. This stranded many would-be attendees, some who had traveled great distances to be there. Several hundred protesters were also positioned outside the property.
Tension between AF and WAR increased soon after, when it was revealed that a longtime WAR financial contributor felt neglected by the Metzger organization, and switched his support to the American Front. The undercurrent of hostility toward Heick then extended to his then-girlfriend, who soon ended their relationship and her ties to the white power movement. Heick spent the next year visiting various AF units in California and across the United States before getting married and settling down in Portland Oregon.
1990s
While still in the Bay Area in 1990, Heick openly announced on the AF telephone hotline that the group would appear in San Francisco's Union Square on the first Saturday in May. Union Square is a Plaza bordered by Geary, Powell Post and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California. The message ran for a month prior to the event with the correct date time and place. Opponents of the AF held a Mayday demonstration three days prior, on May 1. On the day of the AF event, Heick arrived with 10 men and three women, and marched directly into 300 missile-throwing protesters. Police descended upon the AF contingent and confiscated their wooden shields. Police were hit from both sides and made no attempt to separate the two groups. After 20 minutes, injuries included a broken arm, a minor head injury, and in the case of Heick, a broken nose.
In October 1990, Tom Metzger was found liable in a Portland, Oregon civil court case involving the death of Mulegata Seraw, an Ethiopian who died during an altercation with local white power skinheads. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers During the same week of the court ruling, Heick relocated to that city. This fact was known to every anti-racist group in the city. The Coalition for Human Dignity published fliers featuring Heick's home address, and distributed press releases announcing his arrival. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News Local TV news crews arrived at Heick's apartment just a few days after he moved in.
Heick still received regular invitations to appear on national television, but unlike in the 1980s, many of the new offers were to appear on trash TV shows. Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century Heick refused those offers, restricting his interviews to genuine news programs. Press interest in Heick and the AF was waning, and Heick focused on local activism.
The American Front's 1991 May Day demonstration was held at Portland City Hall, and was intended to counteract Portland's self-congratulatory stance on the Metzger verdict. There was a large counterprotest, but no violence. In 1992, Heick and American Front associates were the first out-of-state activists to arrive at the Randy Weaver stand-off at Ruby Ridge. Randall Claude Weaver (born January 3, 1947) is a former Green Beret who was at the center of a deadly confrontation with U Ruby Ridge was the site in Idaho of a violent confrontation and Siege in 1992, involving Randy Weaver, his family Weaver's friend Kevin Harris federal Heick was featured in a videotape of the event, blockading a fuel truck and lambasting the local contractor driving the truck for supporting the government.
Around this time, AF focused on demonstrations and literature distribution. The group's telephone hotline was revived in Portland and remained active till Heick left the group in 1995. In the 1990s, the Washington and California AF sections published The Voice of Revolution magazine, which had strong ties to the newly-formed Combat 18 in England. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Combat 18 (or C18) is the "armed wing" of the British neo-Nazi organisation Blood & Honour. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In New York, Jim Porazzo published Greystorm, the title being a reference to the greyshirt uniform of the official American Front. In Portland, Heick published Revolutionary Nationalist
Much of the focus of AF activity was in protest of hate crime laws, which they claimed only target whites. Hate crimes (also known as bias motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain Social group, usually defined AF was also known for harassing Portland city commissioner Mike Lindberg, who called the group "Gay Bashing Skinheads" in the press, even though no such crimes where ever attributed to the group, nor where any other acts of violence. The Albany, Oregon area unit of the AF held regular demonstrations at the state capital and other government offices in central Oregon. Albany is a city in Benton and Linn Counties in the western part of the U Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
Change of leadership and location
The American Front briefly resurfaced under the leadership of James Porazzo, who moved the American Front to Harrison, Arkansas and began to push a Third Position philosophy. Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates the population of the city was 12764 Third Position is the name applied to a nationalist political strand that seeks to emphasise its opposition to both Communism and Capitalism. During this period, the American Front used pro-working class, anti-capitalist, environmentalist, anti-globalization and communist positions in conjunction with a racial organizing platform — just as they had with the skinhead, industrial music and Satanism scenes in the 1980s. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements ideas and attitudes which oppose Capitalism. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. " Anti-globalization " is a term that encompasses a number of related ideas Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of Experimental music, especially but not necessarily Electronic music. For other uses of the word see Satanism (disambiguation. Satanism can refer to a number of belief systems depending on the user and context Porazzo targeted Jews as the major players in the capitalist system, and blamed Zionism for global turmoil. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the
Aftermath
In the 2000s, the American Front was no longer active, except for a few activists who functioned only on the Internet. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks All of the group's websites and contact addresses have since disappeared.
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