Terms ‘woke’, ‘CRT’ are specific racist ‘dog whistles’ targeting Black people

Terms ‘woke’, ‘CRT’ are specific racist ‘dog whistles’ targeting Black people, claims WaPo Magazine columnist


In a Monday article, Washington Post Magazine contributing columnist Damon Young claimed that the terms "woke" and "CRT" are actually racist euphemisms and dog whistles which discriminate against African Americans.


Young argued that these coded words are being weaponized by conservative activists to gin up fear of "the decentering of Whiteness in America" and inspire backlash against minority communities.

After providing a brief recounting of all the racist, anti-African American dog whistles over the years, Young claimed the latest two entries were "CRT," as in "Critical Race Theory," and "Woke."

Starting with CRT, Young said, The newest addition to this glossary is CRT. You have Black teachers, Black administrators or Black school board members? That’s CRT. Black authors in your curriculum? CRT. You happen to teach a version of American history that doesn’t capitulate to the concept of American exceptionalism? CRT."





Then Young went after the term "woke," writing, "Then there’s ‘woke’ — a word I’d argue has undergone more shifts in connotation than any other word in the 21st century."

He recounted a bit of the word’s history, saying, "When I was in college, in the late ’90s and early aughts, it was used exclusively by Black people to describe the Black people so socially conscious that it bordered on parody. Unfortunately, one of us left the gate open and said it in mixed company, and it eventually entered the mainstream as a synonym for political correctness."

Young mentioned the current meaning of "woke," writing, "Today, ‘woke’ is mostly used by the right to signify the presence of Black people (or women) where they didn’t expect them to be."

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