Wake Up to Stay Woke

Message From The Publisher

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

Childish Gambino in his Redbone lyrics stays, Stay Woke!

In the game of basketball, they say, “the best offense is a great defense.” The defender must move his feet and stay in front of the other player, always keeping one step ahead. Defense wins games. Even the best of three-point shooters understand that they can leave the hoop for only so long basking in the glory of the swooshing sound of the ball going through net before he has to get back on defense and box out. The game is won by scoring but, more importantly stopping the other team from matching your buckets with equal buckets.

A great defense requires strategy. It requires planning. It requires a great deal of practice. Organizing a great defense also requires team members to come together and to be on one accord. Each player must know his individual role, but also the role of his teammates so that he can help in pressure situations. Good defense puts the team in position to have more time on offensive by forcing turnovers, missed shots, clock violations, lane violations and offensive fouls.

A great defensive team is always woke and they stay woke.

While I am not at all a fan of Past President 45, I must respect his defensive game.  There is a lot that can be learned from his defensive strategy 45 and Governor RD plays strategic defense that returns them to a successful offensive.

While running for president back in 2015, 45 stretched the truth, left out details, created alternative facts and just outright lied.  The media could barely keep up with debunking the many Pinocchio tales that 45 repeated repeatedly.  The news media began calling 45’s lies, “fake news”, a term that has been used by news media from as early as the late 1800s when sensational journalism was common.

But 45, in all his manufactured genius, claimed to have invented or coined the term, “fake news” to describe the media and its attack on him. Thanks to 45, the term fake news has become a household phrase used by 45 and Republicans as a defense that puts them back on offense.

Similarly, Governor RD has successfully commandeered and flipped the meaning of the term, “woke”.   The phrase “stay woke” can be traced back to the 1930’s to refer to the awareness of social and political issues affecting African Americans. Singer, Erika Badu repeated the phrase, I stay woke” in her song, Master Teacher which elevated the phrase as a common saying to represent an awakened consciousness of Black people around Black social justice issues.

Like 45, Governor RD has successfully redefined the “woke” phrase to support a polar opposite agenda to dismantle diversity, inclusion and equity. He proudly professes that Florida is here where “woke” goes to die.  He has successfully played defense by redefining the word.

Just as 45 shifted the thinking around fake news to his advantage, so has RD who has turned the phrase “stay woke” into an attack on Black consciousness of injustice.

It is time to reclaim the “stay woke” narrative back to its original definition and intention because the thought that Florida is where wake goes to die is fake news.

About Carma Henry 24455 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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