“Stay woke.” “He’s woke.” “Stop the woke movement.” We’ve been hearing the word “woke” for a while. It’s often hashtagged on social media and has even made its way into Florida state legislation, but how many of us really understand what “woke” means or where it comes from? In my constant attempt to promote building bridges over building fires, the Word Nerd will share what she has learned about “woke.”
Definition
Woke, in its simplest terms, is the past tense of “wake.” But that’s not what Twitter is all excited about.
According to Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com, woke is an adjective used to describe someone or something that is
- having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those related to civil and human rights
- aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)
Etymology
Woke has been used as a slang term in the United States, especially in Black English, for almost a century. It first appeared in a 1943 article of The Atlantic. The piece quoted a Black United Mine Workers official who used woke as a metaphor for social justice:
“Waking up is a damn sight harder than going to sleep, but we’ll stay woke up longer.”
The Atlantic, 1943
During the 1960s, the term meant “well informed”, but still in the sense of political awareness. Woke was often associated with The Civil Rights Movement. It appeared in the title of a New York Times article: “You’re woke if you dig it.”
Woke was used in the 1972 play by Berry Beckham “Garvey Lives!” about Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey. Beckham also used woke to mean social awareness. Here’s a quote from the play:
“I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr. Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon stay woke. And I’m gon help him wake up other Black folk.”
from the 1972 play “Garvey Lives” by Berry Beckham
In 2008, singer Erykah Badu featured “woke” in the lyrics for her song “Master Teacher”. Here’s a bit of the chorus:
Even though you go through struggle and strife/ To keep a healthy life, I stay woke/ (I stay woke)
Everybody knows a black or a white there’s creatures in every shape and size/ Everybody/ (I stay woke)
The word woke gained popularity again in 2012 after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black man. In 2014, after more police shootings of unarmed black men, the Black Lives Matter movement embraced woke and used it as a call to action against injustice.
These days, woke can also be used to refer not only to racial injustice but also to describe awareness of sexism, anti-gay attitudes and policies, and white supremacy. On social media, many large brands have started using woke to appeal to younger audiences.
Conservative Republican Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, used the word when he introduced legislation called Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act. According to DeSantis’s website, the W.O.K.E. Act is a legislative proposal that will give businesses, employees, children and families tools to fight back against woke indoctrination. Explaining the bill on his site, DeSantis says, “We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other.”
Some say the meaning of the word has been diluted, as it is now used facetiously or as a source of humor in memes. Black author and scholar Kaitlyn Greenidge recently noted on The Argument podcast, that the changing meaning of the word “woke” these days is yet another example of white dominant culture corrupting black language. Greenidge says she is frustrated with “the continual denigration of a word like woke.” She says Black people came up with the word woke to describe the experience of living in America as a black person. It’s been a tradition in Black culture for a long time. But she adds, “We also know, knowing that tradition, that it is also a tradition for white dominant cultures to come in and to corrupt our language and to turn it into something else. And that’s what’s happening here… that word is very seductive for a very large portion of white America to just sort of throw everywhere.”
Word Nerd observations on woke
First, I’m not sure how “awareness” translates to hate, but I realize many people share Mr. DeSantis’s view of “woke” ideology. Perhaps that could be a good conversation starter between two people truly willing to listen and understand each other.
Second, I find it interesting that “woke” basically kept the same meaning from the 1940s until the mid 2010s when… guess what? Social media started dominating our lives and big companies used it as a branding tactic. It is very interesting, if not disturbing, to watch how social media influences the popularity, meaning, and perception of words. It’s something we should all stay aware of.
And please, please, if you want to use a word, make sure before you do, that you know what it means and where it comes from by consulting reputable sources, like Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com. I hope this post helps with at least one word.
What other words from politics or culture would you like to learn more about?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
First off great post! I believe that the term “woke” started off as something positive however as time has passed it seems that the term has lost it’s positive connotation. It has instead gained the attribute of forgoing logical thought and critical thinking in favor of emotional decision making, which is detrimental for success and productivity.
Interesting insight- I hadn’t thought about it that way but it makes sense. Thanks for adding to the discussion of this controversial word!
Thanks for the fine essay. I guess I am a logophile, loving to know the precise meaning of a word and even its etymology. I was unaware (un-woke) to the fact that “woke” in the present-day sense had been in our lexicon for so long.
Of course, woke, as it is used in our present culture, is a metaphorical use of the word indicating an awareness of “things as they really are” as opposed to being unaware of those things. It is a good metaphor and is even used in Scripture to describe coming to an awareness, even an alert awareness, of important things hitherto ignored. Of course, properly speaking, woke is a verb, not an adjective. So I was somewhat surprised by its improper use so far back.
The only thing I do not like about woke’s present usage is that it has been weaponized – or at least its opposite has, “non-woke.” The social justice warriors hurl the accusation at those who disagree as an epithet (i think I’m using that word correctly) and they use it, not to further debate and understanding, but to shut down debate. Much like the accusation of racist, once it is hurled at someone, nothing the accused says in defense of himself is heard for he/she is not “woke,” so nothing they say matters.
What if a supposedly non-woke person had genuinely looked into the issues and had honestly arrived at a different conclusion? So much of the noisy woke do not even consider the possibility that they are the ones whose perception is wrong.
It is the unfortunate reality that words do change in meaning over time, but much of today’s rancorous debate arises from words losing any real meaning, thus the speaker can give them whatever definition they want, often without the hearer knowing what that definition is. And that leads to useless debate that often gets needlessly heated.
For example, in today’s transgender debate, no distinction is made between gender and sex. It is true that gender has absorbed much of the meaning of the word sex and they have become nearly synonymous. This may well have come about as gender was used as a more acceptable way to refer to sex. In the mid-60′ I was told by my conservative parents to not use the word sex.
But this leaves us unable to talk intelligently about “transgender” issues. I am a firm believer that there are only two sexes, for that is scientifically undebateable. But gender is another matter and a much more complex one (at least as I understand the word). The proper descriptors of sex are male and female. The proper descriptors of gender are masculine and feminine. Sex, by its very nature, cannot have a spectrum. Gender, on the other hand, can admit of a spectrum. For example, the word effeminate is used of men who exhibit traditionally feminine characteristics and one can be more or less effeminate. But it does not alter the fact they are men.
But without a distinction between gender and sex, the debate makes no progress. People just “yell” at one another, unaware they are not even talking about the same thing.
Well, once again I have rambled, but your essays provoke thought in me, and while I know the meaning of the word “brevity,” so far as I know, I have never practiced it.
Thanks for an interesting read!
Whew! Joseph, you always post thoughtful comments. There is a lot to unpack in what you shared here, but I will just address one thing. I think it is fair to say that both sides of the political divide weaponize words. All the more reason for logophiles like us to learn about words, think about their meaning and nuance, and create space for thoughtful, respectful discussion. Thanks for stopping by!
You are correct that both sides of the political aisle weaponize words. And that is sad. However, my recent cynicism over political commentary and journalism in general may very well be the response of naiveté. Actually, if one looks back through history, such verbal warfare has been going on throughout history. But I was raised by incredibly honest and plain-spoken people, so I grew up thinking nearly everyone is that way.
And maybe my recent shift in attitude is due to the sheer volume of information with which we are bombarded.
But I am always glad when I see an email notifying me of a new column from you. There is always something worthy to think about with no malice or hidden agenda. Keep writing! Your writing is cool shade on a hot day!
I appreciate that. Thank you very much. 🙂
Word missing from Atlantic quote?
Yes – I left harder out. Thanks for the proofread! I fixed it.