Peckerwood

Peckerwood is a term for a

History

Use of the term, an inversion of woodpecker, dates to the early 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the earliest printed use to an Alabama newspaper in 1835.^[2] Peckerwood was in use in reference to white people by 1859; it often suggested a white person who was rustic or poor.^[2][3] The shortened form peck was in use in the same sense in the 1920s.^[8] In African American folklore during the 1920s, the woodpecker symbolically represented White Americans, in contrast to the blackbird that represented African Americans.^[3][6]

Subculture

Historically, the term "peckerwood" was commonly applied to white prisoners in general.^[6] The cemetery at Leavenworth Penitentiary, officially known as Mount Hope, is informally known as "Peckerwood Hill" by prisoners and guards.^[9] In the later half of the 20th century the term narrowed to apply to a white subculture associated with street gangs and prison gangs, such as the Aryan Brotherhood. This subculture is also known as PW, P-Dub, or collectively as "the Woodpile".^[6][10] Men in this group are called "peckerwoods" and women "featherwoods". The woodpecker is often used as a general symbol for the group, such as in prison tattoos.^[6] It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble Woody Woodpecker or Mr. Horsepower.^[11][12] Sometimes the letters "PW" or "APW" (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) are used.^[6]

The term is also used for entry-level recruits of the Aryan Brotherhood.

In 1985, the Aryan Circle formed out of peckerwoods who did not join the newly formed Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. Aryan Circle members believed ABT did not truly stand for white supremacy. Fronted by Mark "Cowboy" Gaspard, the group was originally called Aryan Christians but changed its name due to members' varying beliefs.^[18][19] A group known as the "International Peckerwood Syndicate" has been listed by in the Oregon Department of Justice as operating in Oregon prisons. According to the ADL, the group, also known as the "Insane Peckerwood Syndicate", formed in 2005 and also has a presence in Washington state.^[1][20] Other prison gangs using the term "peckerwood" as part of their name have been documented in Connecticut, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico.^[1]

On May 4, 2013, Charles Gaskin, who was a member of the gang according to his probation report, was sentenced for 26 years to life for the murder of registered sex offender Neil Lee Hayes. According to the report, Gaskin was required to physically harm a white person with a history of child molestation under "peckerwood law".^[21]

Street gangs

The peckerwood subculture has established street gangs that mix elements from

Within the U.S. court system, membership within a Peckerwood group has not always been accepted as indicating the existence of a larger Peckerwood gang. Peckerwood groups tend to lack a constitution, and to be more loosely organized than formal gangs. The Smalltown Peckerwoods, a gang of about a hundred members on the U.S. West Coast, was not ruled to be part of a larger Peckerwood organization in the 2008 People v. Williams case, as the main commonalities were ideology and the name, rather than organizational.[29]^[30] Peckerwood Motorcycle Club is also the name of a Santee, California-based outlaw motorcycle club formed in 1987. According to local police, the club's patches and clothing include Nazi imagery, and members have been associated with hate crimes, although the club has denied that it is racist.^[31]

References