Then-United States Congresswoman Marcia Fudge holding a T-shirt reading "Stay Woke: Vote" in 2018 Woke is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) originally meaning alertness to racial prejudice and discrimination.[1] Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as racial injustice, sexism, and denial of LGBT rights. Woke