How ‘woke’ went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives Analysis by Brandon Tensley, CN

1
I think the term really took off after Obama made a fairly recent speech about being woke. Of course anything he says will be taken out of context by the racist pig republicans.

Origins:
The new season of “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” kicks off in Arizona with an investigation into the origins of “woke” and the debate over critical race theory in schools. The series premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

Washington
CNN

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Race Deconstructed newsletter. To get it in your inbox every week, sign up for free here.

Once upon a time, many decades ago, “woke” was a term used mostly in Black spaces to underscore the importance of keeping a close eye on patterns of racism and oppression.

Language evolves, though, and sometimes in sinister ways.

Over the years, “woke” has lived other lives: as a rallying cry against police brutality, as an ironic meme and now as an imprecise term used to decry progressive action.

Consider that, just this month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act went into effect. Among other things, the legislation is designed to quash instruction about race in schools and in the workplace.

To chart the transformation of “woke” ahead of the return on Sunday of the CNN Original Series, “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell,” which in the season premiere explores what’s going on with “woke,” I chatted with deandre a. miles-hercules, a linguistics scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, we also examined how powerful words can be defanged and distorted.

What are some of the earliest instances of people using “woke”?

By using the term “woke” however they want, conservatives have muddied its meaning, have obfuscated it to refer to anything having to do with progressivism they don’t like. The same goes for “critical race theory.” They’ve done it with so many terms. “Identity politics” is another one.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/10/us/woke- ... index.html
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

Re: How ‘woke’ went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives Analysis by Brandon Tensley

3
INVICTVS138 wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2023 12:06 pm
I know the RWNJs think it’s some sort of ultra MAGA put down; but it doesn’t bother me at all to be called “woke.”


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Likewise.
So when repugs like DeSatin says "Florida is where woke comes to die" he means he wants Florida to be the place for anti-LGBTQ bias, racist bigotry and hate lives on.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

Re: How ‘woke’ went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives Analysis by Brandon Tensley

8
tonguengroover wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:06 am I think the term really took off after Obama made a fairly recent speech about being woke. Of course anything he says will be taken out of context by the racist pig republicans.

Origins:
The new season of “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” kicks off in Arizona with an investigation into the origins of “woke” and the debate over critical race theory in schools. The series premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

Washington
CNN

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Race Deconstructed newsletter. To get it in your inbox every week, sign up for free here.

Once upon a time, many decades ago, “woke” was a term used mostly in Black spaces to underscore the importance of keeping a close eye on patterns of racism and oppression.

Language evolves, though, and sometimes in sinister ways.

Over the years, “woke” has lived other lives: as a rallying cry against police brutality, as an ironic meme and now as an imprecise term used to decry progressive action.

Consider that, just this month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act went into effect. Among other things, the legislation is designed to quash instruction about race in schools and in the workplace.

To chart the transformation of “woke” ahead of the return on Sunday of the CNN Original Series, “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell,” which in the season premiere explores what’s going on with “woke,” I chatted with deandre a. miles-hercules, a linguistics scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, we also examined how powerful words can be defanged and distorted.

What are some of the earliest instances of people using “woke”?

By using the term “woke” however they want, conservatives have muddied its meaning, have obfuscated it to refer to anything having to do with progressivism they don’t like. The same goes for “critical race theory.” They’ve done it with so many terms. “Identity politics” is another one.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/10/us/woke- ... index.html
Well, I grew up in "Black spaces", as the article says, and I never heard the term "woke" until shortly after the murder of Michael Brown by then-Ofc. Darren Wilson. Never heard my Dad say it, and he was definitely from the 'hood (as he used to put it, he was lucky to get out alive). I never heard any of his Black friends use the term, and he took me around the country with him. So, I'm not sure where whoever wrote this article got that notion from; maybe it was a regional thing years ago. But it reminds me of the expression, "jive turkey"; the only time I ever heard that term was on TV or the movies, not from Black people actually out here. Again, possibly regional.
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Re: How ‘woke’ went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives Analysis by Brandon Tensley

9
Conservatives uncomfortable with details and nuances of human behavior constantly label things they don’t understand so they have sumthin to demonize and dismiss. It’s not each label they use that we should chase but the act of “promoting ignorance” through media (pretending they understand what they dismiss) that is insufferable to intelligent people forced to witness.

There are intelligent conservatives of course but they’ve largely ceded their positions in the social discourse. No Country for Old Men who have given up due to fear.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JysGKJEwk2I
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: How ‘woke’ went from a social justice term to a pejorative favored by some conservatives Analysis by Brandon Tensley

10
CowboyT wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2023 9:14 pm
tonguengroover wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 11:06 am I think the term really took off after Obama made a fairly recent speech about being woke. Of course anything he says will be taken out of context by the racist pig republicans.

Origins:
The new season of “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” kicks off in Arizona with an investigation into the origins of “woke” and the debate over critical race theory in schools. The series premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

Washington
CNN

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Race Deconstructed newsletter. To get it in your inbox every week, sign up for free here.

Once upon a time, many decades ago, “woke” was a term used mostly in Black spaces to underscore the importance of keeping a close eye on patterns of racism and oppression.

Language evolves, though, and sometimes in sinister ways.

Over the years, “woke” has lived other lives: as a rallying cry against police brutality, as an ironic meme and now as an imprecise term used to decry progressive action.

Consider that, just this month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act went into effect. Among other things, the legislation is designed to quash instruction about race in schools and in the workplace.

To chart the transformation of “woke” ahead of the return on Sunday of the CNN Original Series, “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell,” which in the season premiere explores what’s going on with “woke,” I chatted with deandre a. miles-hercules, a linguistics scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, we also examined how powerful words can be defanged and distorted.

What are some of the earliest instances of people using “woke”?

By using the term “woke” however they want, conservatives have muddied its meaning, have obfuscated it to refer to anything having to do with progressivism they don’t like. The same goes for “critical race theory.” They’ve done it with so many terms. “Identity politics” is another one.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/10/us/woke- ... index.html
Well, I grew up in "Black spaces", as the article says, and I never heard the term "woke" until shortly after the murder of Michael Brown by then-Ofc. Darren Wilson. Never heard my Dad say it, and he was definitely from the 'hood (as he used to put it, he was lucky to get out alive). I never heard any of his Black friends use the term, and he took me around the country with him. So, I'm not sure where whoever wrote this article got that notion from; maybe it was a regional thing years ago. But it reminds me of the expression, "jive turkey"; the only time I ever heard that term was on TV or the movies, not from Black people actually out here. Again, possibly regional.
And I never heard t of "Hand Jive" until Eric Clapton wrote that song.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

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