#stawwokeleadbelly

The phrase "Stay Woke"  originated with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Huddy "Lead Belly" Leadbetter.  Lead Belly first used the phrase in a 1938 afterword to 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 at the time, urged Black listeners and Black persons traveling through that area to "Stay Woke" (be vigilant, cautious, and alert).  Lead Belly's direct relative, Global Activist Greshun De Bouse began the #STAYWOKELEADBELLY movement to acknowledge the phrase's origin, and to repurpose 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 founded National Huddie Ledbetter Day, celebrated August 1 annually. #huddieledbetterday