How did cracker become a racial slur?

Answer 1

I'm unsure of how it became a racial slur, probably just passed down over generations, but I can tell you how it originated.

In the slave days some masters would whip their slaves. Wipping a slave sounded to them like a 'CRACK!'. So slaves would call their masters 'Crackers'.

Answer 2

The term "cracker" as a racial slur likely originated from the cracking of whips by white slave owners on plantations, with "cracker" being used to refer to poor white farmers in the South. Over time, the term has been used pejoratively to refer to white people in a derogatory manner, although its usage and offensiveness can vary based on context and intent.