Peckerwood originally was used to describe the men who worked at Pecker's
Wood Mills. James Pecker was a
Yankee carpetbagger who built lumber mills in east Texas and
Louisiana after the War Between The States, and who only hired White Southerners; therefore, those who worked at "Pecker's
wood mills" became known as peckerwoods.
Over time, the term became popular in prison, as a way to distinguish White men whom were willing to fight and defend themselves in prison, from those who were willing to be victimized by others. To this
day, various White prison gangs
use the title proudly, and even the prison administration is particularly afraid of peckerwoods, even more so than they are of other
gang members.
A peckerwood is essentially a White
man, usually from the South and from a poor background, who shows little fear and is ready and willing to fight anyone who challenges or threatens him. Peckerwoods in many cases tend to spend years in and out of the prison system, as this willingness to engage in violence and refusal to accept social changes often results in long prison terms. Others eventually wise up and remove themselves from
society, choosing to live in the mountains or the swamps of the South.
Example
1:
Inmate Tyrone: "
Man, we should go and fuck that White
boy over there..."
Inmate Jerome: "Nah, son, he a peckerwood- he'll get all his homeboys after us!"
Example 2:
Officer Jackson: "Inmate, get your ass in the cell!"
Inmate Hank: "Fuck you
coon!" (throws object at officer)
Example
3:
Billy: "Hey lets go and hang out down by the bowling alley..."
Peckerwood : (grabs baseball bat)
Billy: "What you need that for?"
Peckerwood: "Damn spics down there..."
