The word woke is all over our screens, the campaign trail, the news… but what does it really mean and where did it start? How did it become a bad thing?

The earliest usages of woke date back to the early 20th century and the idea of Black people “keeping their eyes open” to the realities of white supremacist violence. “Stay woke!” continued as a warning call until it started to enter the mainstream and lose its original meaning.

And the non-affirming, ultra-religious crowd has now succeeded in making “woke” a bad, negative term.

But it’s not, and it shouldn’t be – and we want to help reclaim that.  #WokeAF

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