Lead Belly, a legendary African American folk singer of the early 1900s, used a phrase at the end of his 1938 song, Scottsboro Boys. The song recounts the story of nine black teenagers being accused of a heinous crime against two white women, which led to seminal legal cases that dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. He said, “I advise everybody, be a little careful when they go along through there—best stay woke, keep their eyes open.” This is one of the earliest appearances of the word “woke” being used in this way. However, it’s meaning has changed over time and how it currently relates to the Black community. So, what does “being woke” mean and why does how we use this term matter? We have talked a bit about the word’s origin, but now let’s look into its modern resurgence.

In the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the movement and protests that followed, the term woke experienced a modern resurgence. The Black Lives Matter movement widely used the term in order to succinctly communicate the need to be aware of the dangers Black folk face regularly. The term was used once again widely by BLM just two years later after the shooting of Michael Brown, to make folks privy to the injustice caused by police brutality and abuse of power inflicted on the Black community.

I was in California with friends for a gathering in 2017. Saturday night was approaching, and we all knew what was on the itinerary. A new horror film by comedic actor turned writer/director Jordan Peele had arrived in theaters and the buzz for it seemed to be through the roof. In the opening scenes of this seminal film, Get Out, a song by Childish Gambino plays which was a cultural touchstone in its own right. The lyrics in Redbone that caught my ear were “now stay woke…” and the lyrics that followed painted scenes of needing to be aware of the dangerous forces that mean to descend upon the listener. The story in the film took this idea quite literally. I won’t get into plot details, but the main character survives the danger he encounters by being aware of or “woke” to the threats he faces as a Black man. This term has clearly endured throughout modern culture because of the effectiveness in which it communicated a simple truth: Black folk must be vigilant to the threats we face.

However, by 2018 the meaning of “woke” began to change and criticism began to arise. It had been weaponized and redefined in order to criticize the very people that used the term’s original meaning. This new definition of “woke” is used to identify people that see themselves as elite because they are socially aware. They are pretentious and only care about performative activism, being “woke” simply by name not action. These woke elites then shame and oppress those that do not see the world and its injustices as they do and may even “cancel” them in the process. Thus, making those that are not woke, or term’s detractors, the victims. Rejecting the concept of wokeness was brushed aside by its critics in favor of criticizing a version of the term that they themselves invented.

In the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd and in the weeks that followed the term become widely used again and so did it’s weaponized definition. The criticism increased in its complexity and intentionality. Some critics, such as James Carville a long-term political strategist, have said that the term “woke” and those associated with it exist in a world of vernacular that is just too foreign and unrelatable. They are simply used more as buzzwords and signifiers of literally how woke someone is if they use said terms. Pushing back against the idea of being “woke” has also become a new strategy to combat progressive ideas. The supposed vagueness of what “woke” actually means, in particular, is essential to this. The mention of defunding the police can quickly be brushed aside and ultimately making the conversation moot by saying that this idea and potential policy is too “woke” and simply just goes too far. One could essentially call what they don’t agree with too “woke”.

Clearly, this discussion could become tirelessly circular, but that’s the point. Getting stuck on the details takes time away from the actual work. We need to reclaim woke because it has such an extensive history in black culture. So much of the Black experience is not just about protecting what our community has created but also reclaiming the words and culture we have produced. Being woke or staying woke is to remain vigilant in the pursuit of justice and be ever aware and resistant to the forces bent on silencing black joy and liberation. Much like being anti-racist, I believe staying woke is an active pursuit, not simply a badge we proudly wear to show how progressive we are. It’s a phrase that Black folk can hear and be instantly clued in on the challenges that our community faces. It holds real power, and history.

The advice that Lead Belly gave at the end of his song back in 1938 lives on decades later and we have to continue its purpose. May we be good stewards of these terms, these pieces of history that are a part of our collective experience.