Peter D Brown, Author

Here’s a very interesting subject. Many people in the US today had been unfamiliar with the term ‘Woke’ before Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, began using it in abundance sometime around 2020. I have to admit I was one. But the term is thought to date back to sometime in the 1920’s, with its true origins even earlier.

But, let’s start with the 20’s. The promises made in the 14^th and 15^th amendments to the US Constitution and Reconstruction after the Civil War had long since fallen apart. Racism was rampant in the US in the wake of Abolition. The Jim Crow period had evolved fully, and African American citizens were understanding that their freedom was anything but.

In 1923, a Black man named Marcus Garvey had emerged as a political activist in Jamaica and coined the phrase, “Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!” as a call for Blacks to forge their complete segregation from whites in order to maintain their sovereignty and racial purity. This was not necessarily received well in America where most Blacks understandably supported a desire to racially integrate as citizens pursuant to the promises made during Reconstruction. However, the epigram has been recognized as an early reference to ‘wakefulness,’ a call for Black’s to be on guard, or “stay Woke” to racial threats in white America.

The term grew more and more popular as oppression and lynchings increased and Blacks came to understand fully that America’s promise had failed them completely.

In 1938, the famous singer/songwriter, Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) immortalized the term in his song, “Scottsboro Boys,” about a then famous trial of nine falsely accused Blacks who were threatened by a lynch mob gathered outside the Scottsboro, Alabama jail. In the final words of the recording, he advises that everybody “be a little careful when they go along through there. Best stay woke, keep their eyes open.”

It’s interesting to compare today’s usage of the term Woke with its original intent. Today, the term seems to have been hijacked by members of far-right factions in the US to describe anything progressive in nature or which seeks to impede their goals and interests. Nowadays, the term can apply to initiatives under the Civil Rights Act (DEI), Critical Race Theory, sexual freedom, planned parenthood, climate change, removing confederate symbolism, electric stoves, beer cans with rainbows… even green M&M’s, at least according to Ron DeSantis’s rhetoric.

The truth is, the term Woke was co-opted by the Black community a long time ago as a means for remembering that justice is stacked against them and to never forget their history of enslavement. It was a source of inspiration to strive for racial justice and the equality that was promised when they were freed. The term is sacred and belongs to the Black community. The hijacking of the term by whites to use pejoratively is not only shameful but also extremely disrespectful and offensive to the Black community.

While not conclusive regarding the term’s ultimate origin, it is worth noting that a group of white, young, Republicans from 1860 called themselves “the Wide Awakes.” The Wide Awakes represented younger peoples’ dissatisfaction with political unrest in the US coming out of the 1850’s, most notably the high-pitched controversy over slavery. The group grew to some half a million strong nationwide, including a Black chapter in Boston. They supported Lincoln and the Republican party’s campaign. Their slogans included: “The Pilgrims Did Not Found an Empire for Slavery” and “God Never Made a Tyrant or a Slave.” They are credited with raising awareness and opposition to slavery as well as markedly swaying the outcome of the 1860 election.

But regardless of the term’s origin, the idea that it is in every citizen’s best interest to always be aware of social and political circumstances affecting their future is nothing less than sound advice. The alternative is sleepwalking, an all-too-common occurrence in American society, where we wake up only when it’s too late.

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