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RACISM IN AMERICAN POLITICS
Why "Woke" is Often Treated as a Racist Slur in Project 2025
Woke was never born to be a slur. Indeed, this term began as a rallying cry within the black community to raise awareness about the deadening status quo of racial injustice. And yet, White political operatives have twisted the term into something unrecognizable, a racial slur they use to berate Black people and oppose their social advancement. Conservatives are hoping they can hide this reality under layers of jargon. However, a careful read reveals their mandate threatens civil rights protections and access to educational opportunities. And Americans should be aware of the true nature of the conservative agenda, as outlined in Project 2025.
The word "woke" is mentioned 35 times in Project 2025, the mandate for conservative leadership, signifying a clear fixation on this terminology. In lieu of outwardly opposing Black people's liberties, they've used the term as a proxy for their racism. While members of white domestic terrorist groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, once wore white hoods to obscure their identity, members of the modern-day right-wing movement use the term "woke" to mask their intentions, allowing them to perpetuate the racial hierarchy in broad daylight. According to the authors, America endured a "Great Awokening," which placed the "moral functions of our society in peril." Nevertheless, Black people continue to live as second-class citizens in American society, as indicated by the racial wealth gap, as well as disparities in housing, education, and healthcare access. What "Great Awokening" are they talking about?
It seems that the brief and legislatively ineffective "racial reckoning," coupled with Joe Biden's 2020 victory over Donald Trump, is the latest thorn in conservatives' lion paw. Despite many Black Americans feeling that racial progress has been stymied on Capitol Hill following a failure to pass criminal justice reform and voting rights legislation, conservatives perceive the country as having shifted too far left and view their agenda as a necessary correction. Their manifesto claims the next conservative president should oppose "woke progressivism," aiming to curtail efforts to expand access to public healthcare, education, and other resources. However, while conservatives see the current state of the…
