Southern blacks used "peckerwood" as a derogatory term to describe poor and/or rural Southern whites. A
dictionary of African-American slang explains that the term "peckerwood" had its origins in the word "woodpecker." Blacks
saw blackbirds as a symbol of themselves and the contrasting redheaded woodpecker as a representation of whites. Eventually, the word "woodpecker" was inverted to become "peckerwood" in an attempt to hide the meaning and origin of the term. Later, peckerwood came to be used in the North as
well, as a general description for
white people.
At some point, peckerwood evolved into a term used to describe white prison inmates. In prison slang, a peckerwood or "wood" was a white inmate who was willing to fight to avoid being raped or robbed. Over time, white inmates appropriated the term peckerwood and made it a source of
pride.
Currently, the term peckerwood is used to refer both to white youths with loose ties to white power gangs in and out of
prison, as well as to actual skinhead gangs who have incorporated "peckerwood" into their
name. The various Peckerwood gangs appear to be concentrated largely in California, where they participate in the methamphetamine trade and have ties to other white supremacist gangs such as the Nazi Low Riders. Peckerwood gang members have been charged with a variety of crimes ranging from dealing drugs to attempted
murder. Many gang members
sport Peckerwood tattoos to display their affiliations.
