Leaders | The left’s doctrine of original sin

After peak woke, what next?

The influence of a set of illiberal ideas is waning. That creates an opportunity

Students against the CRT ban make their views known while pro-ban speakers give a talk.
Photograph: Getty Images

ONE OF THE early uses of the word was by Lead Belly, who sang about the Scottsboro boys, nine young African-Americans in Scottsboro, Alabama, who were wrongly accused in 1931 of raping two white women. They got an unfair trial; all nine later had their convictions overturned or were pardoned. In a recording in 1938, Lead Belly warns black Americans travelling through Alabama to stay “woke”, lest they be accused of something similar. Even the most committed anti-woke warrior would grant that the man had a point.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “After peak woke”

From the September 21st 2024 edition

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