BLACK HAND

Black Hand.Hist. Any of several secret societies that were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. • Most of these organizations were composed of anarchists or separatists and engaged in terrorism. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a loosely knit Sicilian–Italian criminal organization called the Black Hand extorted money from Italian immigrants to the U.S. through threats and acts of violence. Chapters of the organization were established throughout the United States and Canada. The New York City Police Department created the nation’s first bomb squad to deal with the bombs used by the Black Hand. A band of Spanish anarchists in the late 19th century and a group of Serbian anarchists in the early 20th century were also called the Black Hand. The organizations were not related. — blackhander,n.[Blacks Law 8th]