Woke Is Not A Joke!

Believe it or not, the words “Stay Woke” were used by blues singer Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter back in 1938 in a recording of the “Scottsboro Boys.”  It told the story of nine young black men, ages 12-19, falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama in 1931.  The men were not executed but were jailed for years.  Even after their release, they never fully recovered from the mistreatment.  The evidence unquestionably proved their innocence, but it didn’t matter.  Collectively, they spent over 130 years in jail.  The appeal trials lasted over 80 years when the women finally recanted their previous stories that they were never raped, and the story was made up from being arrested for vagrancy.  No forensics or other evidence were considered other than the white women’s words over the black men.  What did you expect in the 30s? It doesn’t look too different from now.  Politicians and the justice system are still lying about the truth.  Now Governor Ron DeSantis Campaign Slogan for President is “Our Great American Comeback Never Back Down.”  It sounds like a takeoff from Trump’s MAGA; bring back the old way of mistreating people, and we can rule in tyranny again.

 

            As you can see, “Stay Woke” or “Woke is nothing new; it’s an awareness of being attentive to the critical fact and issues regarding racial and social injustices.  It’s for people to stay awake during these times when they are trying to cover up past misdeeds and claiming that those things didn’t happen or were done by others that should be forgotten. We don’t want anything to let our kids know the truth, for they might be blamed for their parent's sins and woke returned during the Black Lives Matter movement, which brought attention to the killing of young black men by the police and fake vigilantes under the disguise of being patriots.  It seems all the red states are finding ways to use the law to suppress voting registration, redistricting, and excluding people of color from participating in government and education.  It seems that rewriting history and banning any account from days gone by should be stricken or not even taught in schools.

 

            The Supreme Court verified that systemic racism exists by ending Affirmative Action.  What I found about this disastrous move was that Judge Thomas, a recipient of Affirmative Action, decided because of his toll and guilt.  He has obtained his dream and let the others find their way in education.  Justice is not and cannot be colorblind.  To me, this system was built to protect its own, and those who are privileged will do anything possible to protect it.  Laws are wrapped within hidden laws that enable the users.  Yet, their truth is also their falsehood, so they campaign to reject anyone who can it.  We’re not the only ones who see it; God also sees it.  Vengeance is His, and those of us that believe in Him have the faith to know that the wicked will be exposed.  When we put our trust in man, we will be very disappointed.  Even amid this chaos, there is an opportunity.  Let’s all be calm in the middle of another storm and watch the Lord fight our battles.

 

            There will be a time when there are no more excuses, and we will have to face the fact that we are all liars.  The time will be unexpected when we feel all is well.  In our unrepentant life, we will feel a burden that the living cannot lift.  The guilt we denied to ourselves has accumulated over the years, lusting for money, power, and authority regardless of the costs we paid.  It will be too late for any regrets because it will follow us to the grave.  How will we want to be remembered?  It will depend on who is writing the history.  Will the story be objective or biased?  We can only hope that it is truthful.