By Christopher Young and Dr. Wilma E. Mosley Clopton, Ph.D.,
Contributing Writers,
The discrimination of minorities in America, and particularly African Americans, has never stopped. Progress, of sorts, for many years during the Civil Rights Movement – Yes; but broad-scale equality and equity — you know, the kind that is synonymous with “All men are created equal…?” Nope, nada, not!
The latest acceleration of discrimination seemed to start with the Tea Party, circa 2007. Then, folks went hog-wild when America elected an African American president, and the Tea Party expansion led to winning 63 seats in Congress and taking control of the House and the Senate. Somewhere in there, they hijacked the term “woke.” Today we see far-reaching discrimination – on overdrive – straight out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. There have been dozens of lawsuits in which white folks claim they are being discriminated against; and there is not an ounce of shame to be seen or heard.
We know the use of the term “woke” is not new. “In the early 20th century, ‘woke’ began to be used metaphorically to describe a heightened awareness of social and political issues, particularly those related to race and inequality,” per the publication ScientificOrigin.Com. Folk-blues singer Leadbelly used it in 1938 in his song titled “Scottsboro Boys,” in a cautionary way: “I advise everybody to be a little careful when they go along through there—best stay woke, keep their eyes open.” He was cautioning African Americans to be careful and aware of dangers that they faced in a racially segregated society. Its use in this manner continued into the Civil Rights Movement.
The context shifted somewhat during the Black Power movement, with the term meaning being attuned to the realities of racism and oppression as an inescapable aspect of American life from the beginning – along with fighting against it. The internet, social media, and the Black Lives Matter movement brought the term mainstream and made it synonymous with social justice consciousness. We can easily see that white Republicans didn’t accept that, so they made the term pejorative. Today people like Trump and his Secretary of Defense and plenty of other white Republicans have politicized the term, often as a way of saying “those crazy liberals.” Similarly, they have begun to use their new favorite word, meritocracy, as an antonym for DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).
These, and similar trends tend to persist: wokeness; anti-Critical Race Theory; anti-Diversity Equity, and Inclusion; taking Maya Angelou off the shelves at the Naval Academy Library, taking Medgar Wiley Evers name off the walking-tour of notable segregation and civil rights graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, said it was illegal for Trump to cut hundreds of National Institutes of Health research grants, calling the action arbitrary and capricious. He went on to say it was “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community…after 40 years on the bench, I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this. Have we no shame.”
To be ashamed of one’s action requires the recognition of what one has done was incorrect – possibly harmful. It also requires that the perpetrator recognize and accept the idea that the premise upon which they operated — the very foundation of the morality upon which their ethics was built — is wrong. Wow!
It is at this juncture — the intersection of morality and ethics — that denial is seated, because it requires that the offender grapple with their heritage, their place in the human ecosystem, their ego, and their seat at the table. For them, wrapping their minds around the thought that their complete identity has been built upon falsely constructed information is just too far a leap.
The system of racism requires that someone be at the bottom, and it is not going to be them. Therefore, the term “woke,” as currently used, really means resistance at all costs, and usage of the euphemistic category “white” to describe the tribe to which they belong, provides the offenders with the protection they need to feel in control and secure.
The ingrained need to protect themselves, to solidify their sense of superiority, is hard-wired. It has always been visible to us, though their actions were often cloaked in the past. Today, nothing is shrouded. Naked racism and discrimination are on display – on front street — at the highest office in the land. Even as they disgracefully attempt to re-tell American history, even as they run afoul of principles of fairness and equality inherent in our democracy, the answer remains painfully clear. There is no mystery behind their lack of shame.
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