A new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll has surveyed Americans’ views on some of the culture issues being used by politicians to divide the country, including diversity, trans rights, antisemitism, immigration and even the definition of the political buzzword of the day – “woke.”
“As the field of candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president takes shape, a common theme emanating from these candidates is an opposition to the nation’s turn toward ‘wokeism,’ with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis boldly declaring that his state is ‘where woke goes to die,’” says Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll. …
“What then does ‘woke’ mean to Americans?” Nteta asks. “We found that for most, the term that best describes woke is its synonym, ‘aware,’ with many speaking to the racial implications of the term – a callback to the origins of the term in the African American community where it was meant as a clarion call for people to awaken to the role of systemic racism in shaping the lives of people of color.” CONTINUED
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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