Activist De Bouse: “Stay Woke” Originated With Lead Belly
We have heard many from laypersons to activists to dignitaries and celebrities use the phrase “Stay Woke”. But do you know where it originated? Global Activist Greshun De Bouse does, because the phrase “Stay Woke” was first used by her direct relative and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer-Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter. Lead Belly first used the phrase in a 1938 afterword of his song Scottsboro boys-named for nine Black teenagers and young men falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931. Lead Belly knew the Scottsboro boys and famous boxer Joe Louis, and urged them, and other Black listeners and Black persons traveling through that area in Alabama to "Stay Woke" (be vigilant, cautious, and alert). De Bouse says, “It is imperative that generations become ‘woke’ to the origins of words and phrases they utter.” Lead Belly is a Louisiana-born folk and blues singer, dubbed the “King of the 12-String” due to his virtuosity on the 12-string guitar.
Lead Belly’s direct relative, Global Activist and Equality Advocate Greshun De Bouse began the #STAYWOKELEADBELLY movement to acknowledge the phrase’s origin, and redefine its present-day meaning as a more generalized, all-inclusive phrase admonishing all to be cognizant of past, present, and future world occurrences. De Bouse also is founder of National Huddie Ledbetter Day™ (August 1st Annually). #staywokeleadbelly
#staywoke
