Woke is a slang term that has made its way into the mainstream from some varieties of African American English. In AAE, awake is often rendered as woke, as in, “I was sleeping, but now I’m woke.”

Woke is an adjective derived from African-American English used since the 1930s or earlier to refer to awareness of racial prejudice and discrimination, often in the construction stay woke.

Dec 20, 2023 · Typically, “wokeness” and “woke ideology” are terms of abuse, used against a variety of practices that, despite their diversity, have a similar character. Often, what is dismissed as “woke”...

Jan 31, 2025 · What is the definition and origin of 'woke'? The term "woke" used to have a different meaning. It was first used by Pan-African activist Marcus Garvey as early as 1923. "Woke" was …

Jul 19, 2023 · One word has become unavoidable on the campaign trail — woke. But what does it really mean and where does it come from? The word has a long and serious history in Black culture.

Jan 5, 2026 · Originally, woke came from Black American vernacular and meant exactly what it sounds like: being awake. As in, aware. Paying attention. Specifically, being conscious of racial injustice and …

Mar 7, 2025 · What does it mean to be "woke"? Today, someone who is "woke" is someone who is aware of the social injustices occurring around them.

What is Woke? The term “woke” originates from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), where it initially meant being awake or alert.

Sep 30, 2025 · The term “woke” originated in Black culture as awareness about racism and injustice, with roots traced to Marcus Garvey in 1923. Artists like Erykah Badu revived the term in the 2000s, …

But in the 1960s, that shifted when woke evolved into an adjective—mostly used in African American English, according to Merriam-Webster —to mean “aware of and actively attentive to important facts …