Dear John,
The word “woke” has entered our vernacular as a pejorative term that belies its meaning and history.
LDAD board member and former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Peggy Quince, wrote movingly for Bloomberg Law about the way in which the term has been hijacked for political purposes with profoundly damaging results:
As the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, I have watched Gov. Ron DeSantis tout Florida as a place where “woke comes to die” and himself as leading the “war on woke.”
Those who join that war reveal a desire to bury our nation’s history of systemic injustice and are creating a generation of children doomed to repeat a past they don’t know and certainly can’t understand.
The former Chief Justice emphasized:
The deliberate misappropriation of “woke” is a disturbing trend that can’t remain unchallenged. Politicians have hijacked the word to use as a shorthand insult for any effort to promote inclusivity, civility, and basic kindness.
Language matters. When the term “woke “ is used to denigrate individuals or target groups, it perpetuates stereotypes and undermines civil discourse. It has, in effect, become a slur that has no place in our public policy conversations.
We urge you to read this column and share it widely within your own networks.
