Black cat

Ralph Chaplin created the image of a black cat in a fighting stance, the IWW's symbol of sabotage.

Since the 1880s, the color black has been associated with anarchism. The black cat, in an alert, fighting stance was later adopted as an anarchist symbol.

More specifically, the black cat — often called the "sab cat" or "sabo-tabby" — is associated with anarcho-syndicalism, a branch of anarchism that focuses on workers' rights. See wildcat strike.

In testimony before the court in a 1918 trial of Industrial Workers of the World leaders, Ralph Chaplin, who is generally credited with creating the IWW's black cat symbol, stated that the black cat "was commonly used by the boys as representing the idea of sabotage. The idea being to frighten the employer by the mention of the name sabotage, or by putting a black cat somewhere around. You know if you saw a black cat go across your path you would think, if you were superstitious, you are going to have a little bad luck. The idea of sabotage is to use a little black cat on the boss."