Do you know what ‘woke’ means?
In a world where language constantly changes and evolves…
It’s a word that keeps cropping up – and in a variety of ways. While some are proudly ‘woke’, others appear to be using it in a more derogatory fashion. Controversial presenter Piers Morgan has been heard saying ‘Here’s what I say to the “woke brigade”…’ in several interviews.
But with it bandied around so much, what does it mean? A straw poll of best’s readers, family and friends revealed some interesting, honest and varied results.
‘I’ve no clue what “woke” means! It could be an expression of a feeling – like when you say if something is “sic”,’ said Nicola Zeid, 45, from Watford.
And she certainly wasn’t alone in her confusion.
Many people had difficulty pinpointing its exact meaning.
‘I couldn’t define it 100 per cent,’ admitted 42-year-old Angela Sammon from Ireland. ‘But it’s certainly the word of the moment!’ Other answers included, ‘Past tense of wake?’, ‘left wing’ and ‘Is it to do with social injustice?’
Yes. As 47-year-old Connie Washington said: ‘As a Black American, I can tell you that “stay woke” is a phrase that started in that community.
‘It was always meant to mean “be careful, keep your eyes open”. Watch out for racists, the police or anyone else that might hurt you.’
Linguistically, ‘woke’ was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary as an adjective in 2017 and defined as ‘originally: wellinformed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice.’
The Urban Dictionary, which had published its definition two years earlier, classified it as ‘being aware… knowing what’s going on in the community (related to racism and social injustice).’
The origins of ‘woke’ came much earlier, though – dating back to at least the Sixties across the pond. It certainly isn’t new to the US. The AfricanAmerican novelist William Melvin Kelley is thought to have written the earliest known use of the word under its new definition in an article titled, ‘If you’re woke, dig it.’
In 1972, a character in a Barry Beckham play, Garvey Lives!, says: ‘I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon’ stay woke. I’m gon’ help him wake up other black folk.’
Many people in Black communities in the UK have been using ‘woke’ the same way African-Americans have. But there’s no denying that, more recently, the term has had rather different connotations, though.
‘The term “woke” once meant you were “awakened” to the issues black people face, but now I feel it’s changed to mean something negative,’ London-based Delevene Pitt, 34, says. ‘Nowadays it is being used to belittle and patronise people, especially towards the black community.’
Actor Laurence Fox claimed that he’d once dumped a girlfriend for being ‘too woke’ and that he refused to date anyone under 35 because of their politically correct views.
Surely we should be striving for knowledge, tolerance, understanding and education?
Lisa Levy, 55, from North London, seems to sum it up perfectly… ‘Woke means to me racial equality and treating everyone respectfully. We are all humans who deserve to be seen and heard without prejudice.’