On woke and wokeness

Politicians like buzz-words and phrases designed to distract, mock or deflect. The word woke is used today for that purpose. Here’s an example of woke obnoxiously used. In this case, it’s Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We fight the woke in the legislature. We fight the woke in the schools. We fight the woke in the corporations. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die.”

Where did the word woke come from? It was appropriated from African America culture by those on the extreme right of American politics. It’s being used, incorrectly, to attack things they consider liberal or progressive — things that are not part of the right’s ideologies.

What is cultural appropriation? This is how the Oxford Reference describes it: “Cultural appropriation refers to the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture. This concept is often discussed in the context of power dynamics, where a dominant culture takes from a minority or marginalized culture without permission, understanding, or respect for the original cultural context.”

Woke is rooted in African American culture vernacular. One of the earliest uses of “woke,” was in a 1933 song called Scottsboro Boys, written by Huddie Ledbetter, a blues musician. The song was about several teenage Black boys falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama. Here’s a line form the song. “I advise everyone to be a little careful when they go through there — best stay woke, keep their eyes open.” Woke means staying alert, aware, and tuned in to social injustice, prejudices and racism.

In 1962, a New York Times opinion piece by Willian Melvin Kelley was published titled, “If You Woke, you dig it.” Kelley’s editorial was about the nuances of African American slang and its role in cultural expression. Kelley addressed how African American slang had been appropriated by American White culture.

Jessica Kelley is William Kelley’s daughter. In a 2023 MarketWatch interview, she said, “I wish it would just go away. Black people essentially stopped using ‘woke’ a while ago, unless maybe using it with a side-eye.” Speaking about her father’s opinion article, she explained, “That piece was more prophetic, it turns out, than even my dad could have imagined.” She recalled the author using the term maybe one additional time, in a novel, and in the context of a relationship, not politics.

Today, when woke is used, especially in our current political climate, describing a person or situation, it effectively dehumanizes and desensitizes. With that action, the things being called woke evoke non-sympathetic feelings, and outrage flows – people get triggered. An example of a political tactic that fuels the fire of disunity in our nation’s society. A nation that has been split and fragmented, in part by a word that has been co-opted, and its meaning totally distorted.