In defence of wokeness
Al JazeeraIn late August, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made headlines with a dubious declaration. The term has been used by Black musicians for nearly a century, from 1930s blues singer Huddie William “Lead Belly” Ledbetter to 21st-century hip-hop and neo-soul artists like Childish Gambino and Erykah Badu. According to the GOP and the conservative media, wokeness – not COVID-19, racism, violence or inequality – is the most dangerous challenge to America today, with “woke” ideology being tied to a variety of largely manufactured societal ills. Even superhero movies and shows are now being criticised for increasingly casting actors who are not white men in leading roles, with claims that film studios like Marvel are putting wokeness – here defined as “forced” diversity – ahead of telling serious stories about flying people punching robots and aliens. A variety of terms and phrases have been redefined and demonised by the right, ranging from specific movements like “Black Lives Matter” to general concepts like “social justice” or “equity”.
History of this topic
DeSantis defines ‘woke’ after Trump claimed ‘half the people can’t’
The Independent
Fox pundit and ex-Trump aide tries to play down survey saying most Americans have positive view of the word ‘woke’
The Independent
'The Radical Left...With Its Cancel Culture': How US 'Wokeness' Became a Global Right-wing Cudgel
News 18
Why ‘woke’ became toxic
Al Jazeera
How the right wing uses language as a weapon
Raw StoryDiscover Related
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