Why White Pastors (And People) Should Never Use the Word, ‘Woke’

By Jocelyn Jackson Williams | OBSERVER ColumnistI have felt like I am in a Christian twilight zone for years now: a dimension where basic precepts of the faith such as love, care, and support are not acknowledged or demonstrated in conjunction with the particular injustices that Black folks face.I understand that this is nothing new. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to this issue in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. The call in Dr. King’s open letter was to appeal to his white colleagues in the faith that they would see, acknowledge and empathize with the realities of injustice that Black people face in this country. It has been over 50 years since he wrote that letter and yet here we are just as distanced in the body of Christ. I am deeply grieved by the fact that there are many people who are in name my brother or sister in Christ, but in spirit think or behave more like my enemy.One of the most cringeworthy examples of this divide in recent years is the usage of the word “woke” as a pejorative by non-Black pastors. The word “woke” was created by and intended for Black people. Within the...