The term "woke" originated in 1931. Lyrical stylings by musician Lead Belly with the phrase “stay woke” became a modern usage mainstay. Enshrined in post-millennium tracks by artist Erykah Badu. Woke is African American Vernacular English (AAVE); otherwise known as “Blacklish,” which ostensibly includes acquiring common language. It has morphed over time, as words often do, to have broader cultural and political connotations. In its original, early 20th century sense, being "woke" simply meant being culturally aware, audaciously informed, and uber alert to social and racial injustices—especially injustices packaged as micro and macroaggressions aimed at Black people.
Woke folx consciously attune to how society perpetuates inequality based on race, gender, sexuality, education, politics, corporate culture, living standards, health, wealth, you name it. Most social phenomena connected to ways people vociferously endure, resist, challenge, and dismantle the systemic barriers existing in our everyday lives involve wokeness. The contemporary psycholinguistic effect of woke often describes politically and socially aware groups of people, especially those fighting against oppressive systemic barriers caused by racial discrimination, cultural exclusion, and social injustice.
Recently, the term ‘woke’ gained popularity and entered mainstream vernacular through pop culture. However, the concept of being woke or wokeness also involves a cognitive skill; a feat called ‘critical thinking’— critically examining power dynamics, considering imbalance in social structures, and grasping the role privilege and intersectionality play within those structures. ‘Critical’ thinking comprises a cognitive skill learned over time. And, at its zenith, it serves as a conduit for logical decision-making, in-depth research, and informed, 365° evaluations of an argument, issue, or decision (there are often more than two sides). Critical thinking in the context of woke encourages those who are culturally sensitive to the experiences and struggles of historically pushed-aside communities to take action that promotes social equity and cultural evolution.
It's worth noting that the term "woke" has encountered some backlash, weaponized in political “cultural wars.” Criticism of wokeness and its generational place in Black vernacular has been used in various ways, sometimes to mock or dismiss people who advocate for social justice or suggest that activists are overly sensitive or performative in their activism. Such linguistic distortion is the essence of microaggressions. As with any term, woke’s meaning and usage can be coopted and distorted contextually by people and communities with vastly different agendas.
Too often in this transitional era the word ‘woke’ is used pejoratively by certain groups and people to express disapproval or contempt, inciting specious behavior, especially when paired with another word often used...the word ‘mob’, as in the term ‘the woke mob.’ Considering the relationship between linguistics, psychological, and cognitive processes, it’s useful to note that those three biophysiological states appear to form the basis of behavior in an important way that helps us learn from the adage, words matter.
The word mob can be incendiary, a trigger word that denotes a large disorderly crowd or gang, e.g., M.O.B., which stands for tattoos that read ‘Member of the Bloods,’ sometimes associated with the intent to cause violence. Then there’s Mob Mentality...the inclination some people may have to belong to a group despite the detriment of their own feelings and values. They adopt the mindsets and mimic the behaviors of those grouped around them. Interestingly, the term mob also shows admiration, as in “she faced a mob of adoring fans.” That is how usage and meaning can and often do evolve into something other than the original term and intent.
Woke has come to signify something entirely divorced from its intended meaning by those who fail to recognize their un-woke condition, positioned contentedly in the ‘wokerati’. If you interpret woke as the boogeyman under the bed, you’re just not woke. Stay woke.
