[Ads-l] Early "Wokeness" Citation

Thu Mar 21 03:21:09 UTC 2024

Thanks for your responses Fred and Ben.
While searching I also saw many tweets from @SnowThaProduct containing
the word "wokeness". But the usage seemed to be specialized /
commercialized.  The account was being used for music promotion, and
"wokeness" was connected to the musicians that were being promoted.
Here is an example:

XTwitter Handle: SNOW THA PRODUCT @SnowThaProduct
Timestamp: 2:47 PM · Apr 3, 2011
https://x.com/SnowThaProduct/status/54615952674922496
[Begin Xtweet]
Now back to our regularly scheduled awesomeness we call #WOKENESS
[End Xtweet]

The context in Fred's citation, I think, provides a solid match for
the pertinent sense, but I will defer to the judgment of others
regarding which tweets are relevant.

On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 2:46 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> When we covered "woke" and derived forms for the May 2017 installment of
> "Among the New Words" (AmSp 92.2), we included these two tweets for
> "wokeness" from 2010 and 2012.
>
> 2010 Sept 21 Snow Tha Product (Claudia Feliciano) @SnowThaProduct Twitter
> https://twitter.com/SnowThaProduct/status/25137693977 RT @wokemario: the
> whistle go woooo < mario!!!!!!!!!! We need to have a meeting! Wooooo
> wokeness is on full!
>
> 2012 Aug 11 #SelfWork in action @Conscious Twitter
> https://twitter.com/Conscious/status/234439685521408000 @thesoulasylum you
> stay woke and affect folks wit your wokeness... don’t let the sleepy get to
> you :)
>
> On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 9:08 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Here are some possible matches for "wokeness" with the sense awareness.
> >
> > XTwitter handle: Mustard Ketchup... @dejonketchup
> > Timestamp: 4:32 AM Jun 23, 2011
> > https://x.com/dejonketchup/status/83814721245036544
> >
> > [Begin Xtweet]
> > woke- to become aware of::
> > ness- the state of::
> > so it's only right that "wokeness" means
> > *drum roll*
> > wokeness- the state of being aware::
> > [End Xtweet]
> >
> >
> > XTwitter handle: aurielle is off socials. email me! @YesAurielle
> > Timestamp: 10:59 PM Apr 25, 2013
> > https://x.com/YesAurielle/status/327617997554462721
> >
> > [Begin Xtweet]
> > Everyone on this "3rd eye awareness, mental enslavement, urban
> > apartheid, self wokeness" tip. but my woke self in 7th grade was
> > weird? #OHHH
> > [End Xtweet]
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 6:37 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > The word "wokeness" is not yet in OED.  Below is the earliest I see in
> > LexisNexis.  Does anyone know of any earlier citations ?
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro
> > >
> > >
> > > Twitter's Alarm Clock: @TheBlackVoice
> > >
> > > The Nubian Message: North Carolina State University
> > >
> > > February 5, 2014 Wednesday
> > >
> > > University Wire
> > > Copyright 2014 UWIRE via U-Wire All Rights Reserved
> > >
> > > Section: MIND-BODY-SOUL; Pg. 1
> > >
> > > Length: 1114 words
> > >
> > > Byline: Chris Hart-Williams
> > >
> > >
> > > Body
> > >
> > > An Interview with Triangle Activist and N.C. State Alumnus, Taurean R.
> > Brown.
> > >
> > > Chris Hart-Williams | Staff Writer
> > >
> > > Taurean Brown, activist, writer, and the man behind Twitter's
> > @TheBlackVoice, strives to wake people up and assist them in their journeys
> > of consciousness through his tweets and writing.
> > >
> > > Brown, age 26,  began his activism about a year before he graduated from
> > N.C. State in 2010.
> > >
> > > Though his Twitter handle, which he created in Feb. of 2011, currently
> > has more than 27,000 followers, gaining such a following wasn't his intent.
> > Brown first used his Twitter as an outlet to vent his frustrations but,
> > more than 60,000 tweets later he has become a spearhead in bringing
> > attention to the Black struggle.
> > >
> > > "I thought it was just going to be a place where I could post small
> > things...I never expected it to be developing to what it has," said Brown.
> > >
> > > Brown's experiences growing up in Kinston, N.C. where he was exposed to
> > problems of the Black community such as poverty, and violence both directly
> > and indirectly contributed to his path toward activism.
> > >
> > > But the violent and tragic death of a Chicago teen would ignite his
> > desire to become an activist at 22.
> > >
> > > Taurean R. Brown, an alumnus of N.C. State, began his path of activism a
> > year before he graduated in 2010. Since 2011, Brown has used his Twitter
> > page, @TheBlackVoice to highlight issues within the Black community to more
> > than 27,000 followers. | ArtbyAsh Photography
> > >
> > > In Sept. of 2009 Brown's journey of consciousness began after he saw a
> > video on the news of the murder of  16-year-old Derrion Albert of Chicago's
> > South Side. Albert was jumped and beaten to death by several other teens
> > near his high school.
> > >
> > > Brown said,"It was after that moment I decided I was going to get
> > involved and stay involved."
> > >
> > > Despite majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Brown took Africana
> > Studies courses such as AFS 345 Psychology and the African American
> > Experience with Dr. Craig Brookins an Associate Professor of Psychology and
> > former Director of the Africana Studies program, which he too attributes to
> > him learning about the Black community and becoming an activist.
> > >
> > > "I began reading and questioning things. Writing was kind of a way for
> > me to organize my ideas, and I also thought it was important for other
> > people that might have similar stories and come from similar backgrounds,
> > that had similar questions," said Brown. "I thought that hopefully my
> > writing would inspire them to think for themselves."
> > >
> > > Once Brown realized the following he had gained he started to use
> > Twitter to highlight issues that don't always receive the attention of the
> > mainstream media.
> > >
> > > "I want people to begin to question the society that they live in and
> > the history that they come from and become critical of what's going on and
> > to organize and use whatever means they find necessary to fight the means
> > that oppress people," said Brown.
> > >
> > > A common motif in Brown's tweets is that of "wokeness," as he often uses
> > the hashtag #StayWoke.  "Waking people up doesn't necessarily mean they
> > have to agree with what I'm saying but more so get people to think for
> > themselves critically," said Brown. "Malcolm X said the first thing you
> > have to do is 'wake the people up.'"
> > >
> > > @TheBlackVoice supports the #WakeUpNCSU movement!
> > >
> > > Brown said he's fighting for freedom of the historically oppressed and
> > that the want for freedom is why he does what he does. He defines freedom
> > as the ability for everyone to be able to do what they want and be whoever
> > they want.
> > >
> > > "I believe freedom is the ability to define your own destiny and
> > unfortunately in America if you're Black, you're gay or you're poor...you
> > don't have the ability, or you do but it has a lot more obstacles," said
> > Brown. "My hope is that everybody - all humans- have the right to exist as
> > you see fit whether you're Black, whether you're white, whether you're gay,
> > whether you're straight, trans - whoever."
> > >
> > > Brown's use of Twitter to help organize people in his community around
> > the cases of Stephanie Nickerson, Carlos Riley Jr, and the recent case of
> > Jesus Huerta, who was found dead in the back of a Durham police car after
> > being taken into custody, align with his reasons for first wanting to
> > become an activist.
> > >
> > > "[For me, becoming an activist] really began with me questioning why a
> > lot of things were happening, [like] why are the lives of my friends who
> > grew up in a similar area turning out a little different than mine," said
> > Brown. " I'm privileged enough to come from a good home and other things of
> > that nature, [but] I questioned the pitfall that [others] fell into."
> > >
> > > One thing Brown first questioned was street violence in his home of
> > Kinston, violence that at times, affected him directly. He also questioned
> > the social constructs of American society concerning race and the fact that
> > people are discriminated against everyday based on skin color.
> > >
> > > Brown speaks openly against people he believes to suffer from Stockholm
> > Syndrome, a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and
> > sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors. For Brown, this
> > includes Black people who make light of the Black struggle and Black
> > peoples' value in American society. He compares the behaviors associated
> > with Stockholm Syndrome to that of a wife who defends her abusive husband.
> > >
> > > Unfortunately, Brown said some people speak from a point of privilege
> > and use their "tokenism" as a way to say they mad it and therefore, so can
> > everyone else. Brown says this is a problem because everyone's circumstance
> > is unique.
> > >
> > > "They speak from a place of privilege and allow themselves to be
> > unofficial tokens for groups such as the GOP," said Brown.
> > >
> > > Brown is focused on the progress of all Black people, and though there
> > have been some gains since slavery, like the election of President Barack
> > Obama, he feels there is a long road ahead.
> > >
> > > "Our collective, as a group, as a people, we still have a long, long way
> > to go," said Brown.
> > >
> > > Brown's advice for someone that wants to speak out and be active about
> > racial awareness and other problems in the Black community is to use love.
> > "Always start from a place of love and a love of the people," said Brown.
> > "Realize you're not going to save everybody. You're not going to convince
> > everybody to think as you do, and  you shouldn't want to...a lot of people
> > are going to think you're crazy."
> > >
> > > Check out Taurean's Words of Wokeness below, as well as his blog.
> > >
> > > "Our history is not just specific to the continent of North America, but
> > Africa as well."
> > >
> > > "This country was built by Black people if anyone is American its us."
> > >
> > > "Race is not a real thing ... skin is just different because of the
> > melanin , but these things are made up and people are judged by them."
> > >
> > >  Be Sociable, Share!Tweet
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
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