[Ads-l] "Stay Woke" in 1924

[Shapiro, Fred]

Barry Popik has pointed out a posting on X, which I think originated with someone named Rob Taber in 2020.  Taber found that the online "Portal to Texas History" has an article, published exactly 100 years ago as of Friday, titled "Stay Woke."  The newspaper publishing the article was a Black paper, the Houston Informer, the author of the article was C. F. Richardson.  Richardson characterizes "stay woke" as "the latest street slang."  He describes the phrase as having a general meaning, not squarely political but with a racial component.  It seems to me that the usage he describes in 1924 is quite close to the now-famous idiom of wokeness.

Here is the most relevant portion of the article:

Have you heard the latest street slang, "Stay Woke?"  While some of the slang expressions do not have much meaning or significance, this recent one does.  It means that one should ever be on the job; should be on the alert and not rat or sleep at the post of duty.  "Stay woke" may not be correct or good English, but it certainly carries a deal of weight and signification.  If people would stay awake and not sleep so much, they could accomplish far more than they do.  By staying awake, we do not merely mean the act of not falling a victim to Morpheus (for many people figuratively sleep with their eyes open), but the act of being ever on the job and permitting no opportunity to pass to advance one's cause and protect one's interests.  The man who is unconcerned about himself, his family, his race or the human family, is asleep, whether he ever closes his eyes in sweet repose or not.

Houston Informer, May 24, 1924, page 1, column 1

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth523753/m1/1/zoom/print/?resolution=6&lat=5220.614488678397&lon=2589.0009389455054

Fred Shapiro

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