Back in the day when I listened to the original WAMO and then when I worked there one of the former deejays used a one-word phrase that was profound. Right before he would play a record in a melodic tone, he would say the word “listen.” Instructing you to listen to the music but I felt I was to also gather the meaning of the words of the song. In recent years a phrase has become popular in the black community“stay woke” or “woke.” The phrase“woke” and to “stay woke” is not new — it began appearing in the 1940s and was first used by African Americans to “literally mean becoming woken up or sensitized to issues of justice”, says linguist and lexicographer Tony Thorne. In recent years I have heard activists use the word and those who want to sound connected to the cause of African Americans. The phrase originated from African American Vernacular English but has been gradually co-opted by right wing players to be used as an insult. Have you heard a recent commercial airing on television for a man who is running for political office in Pennsylvania who clearly states that he is “anti- woke”? That caught my attention. To me being anti woke is the same as being anti-aware or uninformed. Who would want an unaware person in office? I always think it is interesting how the meaning of a word is totally changed to mean the opposite of what it meant in the first place. I would love for someone to interview that man and ask him exactly what you mean by being anti-woke and do you even understand what the word means. Or is it just a “dog whistle” for your constituents to let them know you are anti-black? In the words of Brother Matt “listen.”
Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com
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