Activist De Bouse: “Stay Woke” Originated With Lead Belly

From laypersons to dignitaries to activists, celebrities, and more, we have heard the. use the phrase “Stay Woke”.  But do you know where it originated? Global Activist Greshun De Bouse does, because the phrase “Stay Woke” in its present-day meaning 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 interview after performing 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 urged Black listeners and Black persons traveling through that area in Alabama to "Stay Woke" (be vigilant, cautious, and alert) in the spoken afterword to the song.  Lead Belly stated,

“I advise everybody be a little careful when they go along through there — best stay woke, keep their eyes open. If you’re Black and you’re going through Alabama, you best stay woke.”

De Bouse says, “It is important that the generations become ‘woke’ to where the words they say originated, and their meaning.” Leadbelly 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 also played the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and windjammer. The phrase "Stay Woke", its origin are perpetuated by Lead Belly’s direct relative Global Activist Greshun De Bouse, Founder of the #staywokeleadbelly movement and National Huddie Ledbetter Day™ (August 1 Annually).