Research & Analysis

The term "Crazy White Boy" (as well as its initials, CWB) is a phrase used generically by some white supremacists (often in tattoo form) to identify themselves.  It is also commonly used as a name for white gangs.  There have been a number of Crazy White Boy/s gangs in different places around the United States, in the streets or in prisons, over the years.  Most are small, locally-oriented, and unconnected to other, similarly named groups.  Variants of this term include…

Crew 1488 (sometimes called Organization 1488) is a small racist prison gang based primarily in Alaska, though it has a small presence in Colorado. Its primary symbol consists of a swastika intertwined with an Iron Cross, with 14, 88 and SS lightning bolts inside the Iron Cross.

The European Kindred is a large white supremacist prison gang based primarily in Oregon. Its primary symbol is a "shield" tattoo containing the initials EK, often displayed on the calf.

The European Kindred is a large white supremacist prison gang based primarily in Oregon. Gang members often use a two-handed hand sign in which three fingers of one hand are spread to look like an E and two fingers of another hand are spread to resemble a K.

The term "featherwood" derives from the related term "peckerwood," a word that evolved from an old racial epithet directed at whites to a term used to refer to people associated with the racist prison gang subculture. A featherwood is the female equivalent of a (male) peckerwood. Featherwoods can sometimes be members of racist prison gangs (and, in California, of related peckerwood street gangs) but are more often associates of such gangs, often girlfriends or wives of gang members. The term…

The Georgia Aryan Brotherhood is a racist prison gang based in Georgia. It has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood (present in the California and federal prison systems). Some members sport a "shield" tattoo, but many also use a wide variety of more generic Aryan Brotherhood symbology.

The Indiana Aryan Brotherhood is a large white supremacist prison gang based in Indiana. It is active both in Indiana prisons and on the streets. Despite its name, it has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood, which is based in the California and federal prison systems.

ALTERNATE NAMES: My Honor Is Loyalty, My Honor is Called Loyalty, Unser Ehre Heisst Treue"Meine Ehre Heisst Treue" is a German phrase that translates roughly to "My Honor Is Loyalty." In Nazi Germany, the Waffen SS (the military wing of the SS) used this phrase as a motto; it is a reference to the organization's loyalty to Adolf Hitler. Since World War II, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists around the world use this German phrase (or its equivalent in English or other languages) as a hate…

The Mississippi Aryan Brotherhood is a large racist prison gang based in the Mississippi state prison system. Despite the similarity of its name, it has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood, based in California and the federal prison systems. The logo of the Mississippi Aryan Brotherhood consists of a highly-stylized rendition of a combined A and B.

The New Aryan Empire is an Arkansas-based white supremacist prison gang. Its most common symbols consist of its initials, NAE, as well as the number 234 (in either Latin or Roman numeral forms).

The Ohio Aryan Brotherhood is a longstanding white supremacist prison gang based in the Ohio prison system. Despite its name, it is an independent group and has no connection to the "original" Aryan Brotherhood, based primarily in the California and federal prison systems.

The Oklahoma Aryan Brotherhood is one of several white supremacist prison gangs in the Oklahoma prison system whose name derives from the unrelated "original" Aryan Brotherhood, which is based in the California and federal prison systems. Its patch is a shield on top of two lightning bolts and a sword, with a clover, a swastika, and SS bolts inside the shield.

ALTERNATE NAMES: Wood, Woodpile, PWThe word "peckerwood" originated as an African-American slang term for "woodpecker" in the 1800s, but by the early 1900s began to be applied as a racial epithet against whites, with a meaning similar to the term "white trash." In the second half of the 20th century, in prison environments in Texas, California, and possibly elsewhere, the word peckerwood, originally used to refer to white prisoners generally, began to develop a more specific association with…

Peckerwood Midwest is a white supremacist gang based primarily in Missouri, active both in prisons and on the streets. The gang's "patch" tattoo consists of a diamond-shaped swastika inside a larger Iron Cross. Inside the swastika are SS bolts; outside the Iron Cross are the numbers 23/16.

Public Enemy Number 1 is a large white supremacist gang based in the prisons and on the streets of California. Its most common symbol is simply a shortened version of its own name, such as PENI or PEN1. Members may also refer to the gang as the Peni Death Squad or PDS, thus PDS is also a common tattoo.

The Sacred Separatist Group (SSG) is a Missouri-based white supremacist prison gang. The group's "patch" tattoo consists of a shield over a crossed sword and battleaxe, with the initials SSG inside. Typically, the letters SS in those initials are rendered as lightning bolts.

The Saxon Knights are a large, Indiana-based white supremacist prison gang. Their primary symbol is a shield tattoo, with a shield emblem superimposed over a sword, a warhammer, and a battleaxe. The shield has four sections, two of which include the letters "S" and "K." A third section usually contains a knight's helmet. The fourth section is sometimes left blank and sometimes contains one of a number of other symbols.

The Silent Aryan Warriors (SAW) are a large white supremacist gang based in Utah. Their primary tattoo consists of an Iron Cross with SS lighting bolts and a curved swastika at the center. Four Totenkopfs surround the Iron Cross, while around the image are the German phrases "für immer weiss" and "für immer stolz," which translate to "forever white" and "forever proud."

Soldiers of Aryan Culture (SAC) is a large Utah-based white supremacist prison gang. The two symbols most commonly used by the gang are 1) the group's initials, SAC, and 2) a swastika interwoven with an Iron Cross.

The Solid Wood Soldiers are a Texas-based white supremacist prison gang. Their primary tattoo consists of the initials SWS, with the two S's represented by lightning bolts. Above the initials appears the image of a bear claw, with the number 4 in the middle and sometimes the letters HCRL.