I keep writing because I am perplexed, I am sure my perplexity is born out of an inherent inquisitiveness and desire to understand myself, my environment, and my fellow man. Therefore the thought that other Black people like myself remain apathetic to the ideals that should mean so much to us, is almost intolerable. It would be great to work on my perplexity and curiosity with you face to face, but the problem with that is we would argue, and you would constantly interrupt my flow, my most profound thoughts and reasoning; so I opt for the privacy and efficacy of writing stories that must be told, without interruption. This story is about being “Woke,” and how we must fight to ensure that we remain in that state of being Woke despite the backlash from those who fear the Age of Wokeness and the growing Black awareness and enlightenment in its wake. Just as the Renaissance precipitated a rebirth of ideas in Europe, and the age of Enlightenment (The Age of reason) ushered in ideas of human rights, freedom, and justice; so, the Black American Age of Wokeness dispenses new insight and awareness to reveal the systemic inequity and inequality in American society.
As with all life changing ideas, its pedigree and epistemology will be severely challenged and tested by its opponents, even more so because the idea derives from the physical experience and mental trauma of urban Black Americans. It is these same Americans whose rights to liberty, freedom and social justice is constantly being denied who are insisting that everyone should become fully Awake to social, educational, and economic injustice. So expect that whenever Black Americans express their discomfort, calling attention to unfairness, inequity, and equality, that Wokeness (insight, awareness), “triggers an equal and opposite reaction, (Newtons Third Law of Motion) from the status quo and its adherents. It remains amazing and perplexing to me that the Constitution of the United States delineates carefully in the 14th Amendment the citizenship rights of Black Americans, as well as all who were born here, yet some continue to act as if we are unaware, or blind to our rights!
In order to diminish my perplexity and yours I have included a brief quotation from the webpage of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) an Organization dedicated to protecting the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, (quote): “it is critical to remember that the “pervading purpose” of the 14th Amendment was to eliminate the oppression of historically subjugated minorities and to provide equality of opportunity.
The amendment’s ratification on July 9, 1868, shortly after African-Americans were emancipated from slavery, represented a turning point in the country’s history. Its passage was an effort to provide substance to the Declaration of Independence’s promises of freedom and equality, which from the beginning had not applied to significant parts of the population, including Black people and women. And though those promises were continually reneged upon, the 14th Amendment remained a source of aspiration and hope.”
Stay Awake with me now – in the 1940’s one of the most famous Black folk/blues singers -Huddie Leadbetter better known as Lead Belly, sung a tribute to the Scottsboro Boys, nine young Black youths who were falsely accused of raping two white girls in Scottsboro, Alabama. Lead Belly was so incensed by the racism, that at one of his gigs he sang the lyrics, (some of which he had co-opted from another Blues singer at the time, the original lyrics go, “If I don’t go crazy, I’m sure gonna lose my mind/’Cause I can’t sleep for dreamin’, sure can’t stay woke for cryin’”, which Lead Belly repurposed as “best stay woke.” Since then that evocative four letter word has set the Black world on fire. Erykah Badu added fuel to that fire when her 2008 album, New Amerykah Part One – (4th World War) debuted the song ‘Master Teacher’ which further amplified the Woke consciousness. The backlash from that simple four-letter word (which connotes watchfulness, awareness, and vigilance in the Black world) has been so distorted, demeaned, disparaged, and corrupted by those who fear Black Awareness, Insight and Consciousness, that they are campaigning to white list Wokeness – we have already Black listed, copyrighted, and trademarked Wokeness. Stay Woke my friends!
