Peckerwood (or simply Wood) is a slur used through the mid 20th century by southern African Americans and upper class whites used to describe poor rural whites. It is roughly synonymous with “cracker” and “redneck”, more prevalent in the southeast, and “White trash”, although the last implies a degree of moral turpitude. Blacks saw blackbirds as a symbol of themselves, and the redheaded woodpecker as a representation of working class whites. They considered them loud and troublesome like the bird, and sometimes with red hair like the woodpecker’s head plumes. This word is still widely used by southern blacks to refer to southern whites. Pecker-wood, (a.k.a. Peck-a-wood), is also a mentality in which white people deem themselves superior to African-Americans, look down on them, and justify ill and inhumane treatment of them, and as a basis of discrimination and separation. Where as the word Pecker-wood may refer to, but is not limited to, southern whites, the Pecker-wood mentality is prevalent in all regions in the United States, and throughout the world.^[1]

In the 1940s, the abbreviated version “wood” entered California prison slang, originally meaning anOkie mainly from the San Joaquin Valley. This has caused the symbol of the woodpecker to be used by white power skinheads and other pro-white groups.^[1][2] Some white supremacist groups call male members “peckerwoods” and female members “featherwoods”.^[3] It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble Woody Woodpecker or Mr. Horsepower. Sometimes the letters “PW” or “APW” (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) are used.^[1] The peckerwood gangs are concentrated in California, where some trade inmethamphetamine.