[Ads-l] Correction Re: More Re: "Stay Woke" in 1924

[Shapiro, Fred]

In my 1925 citation, "regarded as treated" should be "regarded and treated".

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2024 9:42 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: More Re: "Stay Woke" in 1924

I now have firm evidence that C. F. Richardson, editor of the Houston Informer, meant "stay woke" in a political sense.  These two citations are from editorials, presumably written by Richardson, in the Houston Informer:

Until we wake up, "stay woke" (meaning to stay on the job at all times) and exert our full strength and power for our best interests, we shall forever be regarded as treated as human slaves by the governing class and those in official positions.
Houston Informer, Sept. 12, 1925, page 8, column 2 (Portal to Texas History)

We are glad to observe that Harlem Negroes are waking up politically, and our advice to them, to employ the vernacular of streets, is "Stay woke !"
Houston Informer, Oct. 5, 1929, page 8, column 1 (Portal to Texas History)

Fred Shapiro



________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2024 8:37 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: "Stay Woke" in 1924

Now I see that the OED recently added this citation to its entry for "woke."

Fred Shapiro

________________________________
From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2024 8:27 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: "Stay Woke" in 1924


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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