“Woke” Isn’t a Mind Virus – It’s a Cancer to Fascism.
The term “woke” didn’t start as a slur—it started as a warning.
Rooted in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), it’s been used since the 1930s to signal awareness of racial injustice and systemic violence. In 1938, blues musician Lead Belly urged listeners to “stay woke” to the threat of racial terror. Decades later, it echoed through the civil rights movement, resurfacing during Black Lives Matter protests as a rallying cry for vigilance and justice[^1].
This tee pushes back on the weaponization of that word.
When people twist “woke” into something dangerous, you have to ask yourself—dangerous to whom?
Front: Cellular graphics and bold text subvert the lazy metaphors. “Woke” isn’t contagious—it’s corrosive to authoritarianism.
Back: A stark historical image overlaid with a loud red command:
STAY WOKE.
You’re not the problem.
You’re the antidote.
[^1]: Florini, Sarah. “The Rise of ‘Woke’: Language, Black Culture, and Resistance.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, vol. 11, no. 4, 2014, pp. 333–338.
[^2]: Bunyasi, Tehama Lopez, and Candis Watts Smith. Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter. NYU Press, 2019.
[^3]: Merriam-Webster. Woke: The History of a Word. 2020
EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY
Product information: Gildan 5000, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC
Warnings, Hazard: For adults, Made in Nicaragua
Care instructions: Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F), Non-chlorine: bleach as needed, Tumble dry: low heat, Do not iron, Do not dryclean
