Perhaps the members of the California alt country band Cracker tried to change a term of abuse into a badge of honor.
Cracker (also called white cracker) is the offensive word used by somewhat better-off white Americans to describe their impoverished compatriots in the south of the States - in particular the residents of Georgia and Florida.
The origin of the word cracker is not 100% clear, but there are theories referring to food and slavery.
According to the authoritative Encyclopaedia Britannica the term cracker goes back to the time of the American civil war, a period in which many southerners - forced by poverty – put themselves on a diet of cornmeal and grits. The food in question - animal food rather - was made by crushing (cracking) grain.
It is also possible that the word cracker is a kind of sound imitation: in that case it would be the sound of the whips the southerners were cracking to keep their black slaves under control.

The origin of the word cracker is not 100% clear, but there are theories referring to food and slavery.
According to the authoritative Encyclopaedia Britannica the term cracker goes back to the time of the American civil war, a period in which many southerners - forced by poverty – put themselves on a diet of cornmeal and grits. The food in question - animal food rather - was made by crushing (cracking) grain.
It is also possible that the word cracker is a kind of sound imitation: in that case it would be the sound of the whips the southerners were cracking to keep their black slaves under control.
Active: 1990-present, USA
Site: http://crackersoul.com/fr_home.cfm
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