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IMAGE caption - The woke concept has morphed from social licence to caricature.

"A history of “wokeness”"

Where ‘woke’ came from and why marketers should think twice before jumping on the social activism bandwagon

September 9, 2019 6.00am AEST

Author Abas Mirzaei
Senior Lecturer - Branding, Macquarie University

First used in the 1940s, the term “woke” has resurfaced in recent years as a concept that symbolises awareness of social issues and movement against injustice, inequality, and prejudice.

But popularity has diluted its meaning and the idea has been cynically applied to everything from soft drink to razors, attracting criticism if too liberally applied.

One recent stretch for this term is the New Yorker magazine’s headline for a story about a vegan chef’s output, which read: What’s in a Woke McRib?

Being woke was originally associated with black Americans fighting racism, but has been appropriated by other activist groups – taking it from awareness and blackness to a colourless and timeless phenomenon.

Read more: Woke washing: what happens when marketing communications don't match corporate practice
https://theconversation.com/woke-washing-what-happens-when-marketing-communications-dont-match-corporate-practice-108035

Now, there are dangers associated with appearing overly concerned with consciousness-raising – see Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau being described as seeming “like a social-justice Twitter account on two legs” .

Woke history

Black Americans in their ongoing fight against racism and social injustice have used the term “woke” at key moments of history.

In literal terms, being woke refers to being awake and not asleep. One Urban Dictionary contributor defines woke as “being aware of the truth behind things ‘the man’ doesn’t want you to know”. Meanwhile, a concurrent definition signals a shift in meaning to “the act of being very pretentious about how much you care about a social issue”.

The Oxford dictionary expanded its definition of the word “woke” in 2017 to add it as an adjective meaning “alert to injustice in society, especially racism”.

In the 1942 first volume of Negro Digest, J. Saunders Redding used the term in an article about labor unions. Twenty years later, a 1962 New York Times article was titled: If You’re Woke You Dig It: No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today’s Negro idiom without a hip assist.

On June 14, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr, gave a commencement address called Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution at Oberlin College:

More - https://theconversation.com/where-woke-came-from-and-why-marketers-should-think-twice-before-jumping-on-the-social-activism-bandwagon-122713

See also:

conix, Political correctness. "Woke". Critical Race Theory. Now Kendi. The latest conservative/GOP whipping post. Policy? C'mon.
We just attack. Kendi has always been with the others on the conservatives dart board. Just more in the background. Some others
P - "Ibram X. Kendi is the false prophet of a dangerous and lucrative faith"
P - Gawd, false prophet. Which right-winger labeled him a prophet first?
Dangerous and lucrative faith. I didn't know Kendi was one of those
'money is good' Christian tv evangelists. You're right he's not. [neater now]
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