By: Ajia Caldwell (’20), Staff Writer
To my “conscious” Black men and women, it is time for us to redefine the terms “conscious” and “woke,” because as far as I am concerned, these terms involve more than social media posts, African head wraps, and dashikis. Along with this, let’s also eliminate the notion that one can be knowledgeable of a couple racial injustices and automatically be “woke”. By superficially defining these terms, we are making them easily attainable to the general public, which explains why they are the hot trend. Now, anyone can be “conscious” but is that really the message the Black community is trying to send?
Consciousness is the desire to seek truth over lies, right over wrong, fact over fiction, justice over inequality, and morality over immorality. However, consciousness is so much greater than just having information or being updated on the latest race-related news. We have to get past this notion and delve into the true meaning of consciousness. Many of us look at artists like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, artists who have publicly spoken out about consciousness, as the singular image of what this looks like.
When we look at people from the “conscious” community, we often see head wraps, depictions of the ankh, natural hair and various forms of Afrocentric clothing. In today’s society, consciousness has become an aesthetic and a trend instead of a mindset. Not only has it become a trend, it has become a contest in which Black and White people compete to name racism when it appears or condemn people for “lagging behind.” A huge and alarming aspect of this trend is the condemning of others who are in different stages of their consciousness. Many possess a superiority complex for being “conscious” and treat those who are not as aware as inferior. The irony is that in doing so, these people become the exact system they should be trying to destroy.
While the word “conscious” is commonly used in the Black community, the word “woke” is now a word used in the White community quite often. The phrase “stay woke” became popular when used in Erykah Badu’s song Master Teacher Melody, but it is now being used without knowledge of its history and power. This lack of context allows people, especially White people, to feel as if they identify with the struggles of people of color. When White people desire to get “points” for consciousness, they walk a fine line between allyship and appropriation. In this context, it is important for White people to realize that they cannot identify with the struggles of Black people but can be an active ally and use their privilege to help combat injustices committed against people of color.
Before you throw out the word “consciousness”, be sure you are not a passive activist. Stop focusing on the label and do something that impacts the Black community in a positive way. The last thing the Black community needs is a bunch of passive people who only speak out when racial injustices happen in America. If you are truly “conscious”, you would understand that America is built upon hateful ideologies meant to destroy us. Racial injustices happen everyday. Stop preaching about racism and do something to change it.
