✊ Raised Fist

Unicode lists ✊ Raised Fist among the closed-hand gestures in the People & Body group. In practice it comes up around clenched, fist, hand and punch. Unicode also files it under raised and solidarity, which shows how widely it is read.

You can drop ✊ into chats, social posts, headlines or a bio. On SmileyZone it is filed under Gestures and Hands. The character has been part of the standard since 2010 (Emoji 0.6). Its code point is U+270A. The emoji also comes in 5 skin tone variants, listed in the sidebar.

• ✊ on its own already flags the topic: clenched.
• Fits messages about clenched, fist, hand and punch.
• Often seen near 👎🏻 Thumbs Down: Light Skin Tone, 👎 Thumbs Down and ✊🏻 Raised Fist: Light Skin Tone.

The raised fist has been the sign of the labour movement, anti-fascism and civil rights struggles since the early twentieth century. It became world-famous in 1968 when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the Olympic podium in Mexico City.

Since 2013 it has been particularly associated with Black Lives Matter. Unlike most emoji this one carries a political charge – used casually to mean “strong”, it can land awkwardly.

• ✊👊 – Raised Fist and Oncoming Fist
• ✊👍 – Raised Fist with Thumbs up
• ✊🤛 – Raised Fist plus Left-Facing Fist
• ✊🤜 – Raised Fist and Right-Facing Fist
• ✊👎 – Raised Fist with Thumbs Down

Easy to mix up with 👎🏻 Thumbs Down: Light Skin Tone, 👎 Thumbs Down or ✊🏻 Raised Fist: Light Skin Tone. They sit in the same Unicode subgroup and look similar at small sizes, so it is worth checking the name before sending.