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Erykah Badu Calls Out Right-Wingers For Co-Opting The Term “Woke”: “I Think They Mean Black” 

By: London JennnCategory: News

Erykah Badu claims she popularized the term “woke” with her 2008 song “Master Teacher,” and now it’s been hijacked by the right wing.

Erykah Badu has addressed the hi-jacking of the term “woke” by the right-wing, claiming it’s being used as a euphemism for “Black.” 

The term is said to date back to the early 20th century when it was used to describe Black people becoming woken up or sensitized to racial oppression. Harlem novelist William Melvin Kelley used the term 1960s essay, while the Oxford English Dictionary credits American playwright Barry Beckham with coining the term in a 1971 play.  

However, “woke” entered the mainstream via Erykah Badu’s 2008 song “Master Teacher” from her album, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War). 

As the songstress explained during an interview for MSNBC with Ari Melba, “’Stay woke’ was introduced to the world by way of this album.” Ari noted some on the political right wing are “hijacking” the term before showing Erykah Badu a series of clips highlighting the evolution of “woke”.  

“I think they mean ‘Black.’ Yeah. That’s just another way to say ‘thug,’ or something else, right?” Erykah Badu declared.  

Erykah Badu Defines “Woke”

She added: “It is what it is, it doesn’t belong to us anymore. And once something goes out into the world, it takes a life of its own. It has an energy of its own. I can tell you what ‘woke’ means. It just means being aware, being in alignment with nature. 

According to Erykah, “It’s not only in the political arena. That means with your health, that means in your relationships, that means in your home, that means in your car, that means in your sleep.” 

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Check out the clip below and watch the interview at the end of the page.  

Meanwhile, an “anti-woke” author went viral recently after failing to define the term in an interview. She struggled with the term, despite dedicating an entire chapter of her book to defining what “woke” means.