{"id":16062,"date":"2025-05-22T15:31:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=16062"},"modified":"2025-05-22T15:34:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:34:55","slug":"reclaiming-woke-a-call-to-black-consciousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/22\/reclaiming-woke-a-call-to-black-consciousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Reclaiming \u201cWoke\u201d: A Call to Black Consciousness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Carla Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Carla Thomas<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Truth Contributor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I saw a T-shirt recently that read: \u201cWoke is not the insult you think it is.\u201d And I paused. Because somewhere along the way, \u201cwoke\u201d went from being a warning to our people, a sacred call to stay alert, to becoming a punchline for the powerful and a slur flung at those who dare to speak truth. Somehow, the very word that once shielded us has been twisted into something shameful.<\/p>\n

And too many of us have started to believe the lie.<\/p>\n

But let me remind you: Woke is ours. It was born from struggle. It lives in resistance. And it still matters.<\/p>\n

Where \u201cWoke\u201d Really Comes From<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long before it made headlines, woke was part of our vernacular. It meant to be \u201cawake to injustice.\u201d It was a word passed down as a warning: stay woke. Stay alert to the systems designed to deceive you, contain you, erase you.<\/p>\n

As early as the 1930s, the blues artist Lead Belly sang, \u201cI advise everybody, be a little careful when they go along through there\u2014stay woke, keep their eyes open.\u201d Decades later, civil rights leaders echoed the sentiment without always using the word. And yes, Marcus Garvey\u2019s Pan-African teachings shouted, \u201cWake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!\u201d A decolonial demand for global Black consciousness, a mental awakening, a shedding of colonial lies to embrace Black truth and power. Woke has always meant survival.<\/p>\n

When Awareness Became a Threat<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent years, something has shifted. \u201cWoke\u201d didn\u2019t just get popular\u2014it got hijacked.<\/p>\n

The right turned it into a scary word. Florida\u2019s 2022 Stop WOKE Act tried to ban schools and workplaces from even discussing systemic racism or privilege. (A federal court keeps pushing back.) Republican campaigns slap \u201cwoke\u201d on anything that smells like equity\u2014books, history, even Black cartoon characters.<\/p>\n

Mainstream media followed suit. Articles from The Guardian to ABC News detail how \u201cwoke\u201d has become a dog whistle. A way to say, \u201ctoo Black,\u201d \u201ctoo honest,\u201d \u201ctoo free,\u201d without saying it outright.<\/p>\n

And somehow, the slander stuck. Even in our own communities, to be called \u201cwoke\u201d can feel like a side-eye. Like you\u2019re trying too hard, too radical, too Afrocentric\u2014too much. But think about it: criticizing a Black person for being too Afrocentric\u2014as opposed to what? Eurocentric? That\u2019s not only ridiculous; that\u2019s a symptom of colonial conditioning. It shows how deeply white supremacy has shaped our thinking when centering our own culture feels extreme.<\/p>\n

But why is this? Why is Black awareness always painted as extreme? Because a fully aware Black mind is a threat to the systems that maintain oppression.<\/p>\n

What Woke Actually Means Today<\/strong><\/p>\n

I say this unapologetically: I am woke<\/em>, and proud of it.<\/p>\n

Woke means I recognize the microaggressions that try to chip away at my spirit on a regular basis, and I refuse to excuse them anymore.<\/p>\n

Woke means I no longer conform to fit the narratives of white supremacy.<\/p>\n

Woke means I see how colonized religion has been used to keep us in spiritual bondage, and I seek ancestral truth instead.<\/p>\n

Woke means I understand that the systems harming us were designed to do just that. And I make decisions rooted in that awareness.<\/p>\n

To be woke is not to be angry or hostile. It\u2019s to be aware. And when awareness leads to action, that\u2019s when change begins.<\/p>\n

Why They Want Us Asleep<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be real: we\u2019re not called angry because we\u2019re irrational. We\u2019re called angry when we stop being agreeable. We\u2019re labeled militant when we stop shucking and jiving and start challenging systemic power.<\/p>\n

They mock \u201cwoke\u201d for fear of what happens when we awaken. I believe when we as Black people awaken\u2014fully, deeply, spiritually, and politically\u2014we tap into a power no system can contain. We stop waiting for permission. We question what no longer serves us. We create what we need. We reclaim our stories, our brilliance, our future\u2014on our own terms.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about what threatens them. It\u2019s about what frees us.<\/p>\n

Are You Asleep… or Are You \u201cWoke\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know you\u2019re asleep when:<\/p>\n