
I recently listened to Wake Up Suite by Bill Lee & the Natural Spiritual Orchestra, a piece featured in Spike Lee's movie School Daze. My son, now in his mid-20s, has developed a fascination with 1980s culture, including the films of that era. Revisiting School Daze took me back to a magical time in my own life—when I was his age in 1988. I couldn’t help but recall the film’s powerful ending, where the main character, Dap, passionately calls out, “Wake up!”
Spike Lee’s groundbreaking film, set on the Atlanta University campus, explored the historic Black college experience. Watching it today feels especially poignant as the language and lived experiences of people of color—especially African Americans—are increasingly demonized. The very concept of being “woke,” rooted in awareness of societal inequities, is now being weaponized as a microaggression and misrepresented in political discourse.
School Daze begins with students protesting South African apartheid and demanding divestment—a nod to the activism of young people in the late 1980s who fought against oppression. Yet, the film also highlights the internal struggles within the Black community, such as colorism, classism, hair texture biases, and hazing. These issues, while deeply personal, often distract us from addressing the broader systemic forces of oppression and injustice. And today amongst our current political climate we must boycott those institutions that have made the decisions our community doesnt matter, just like in the 1980’s.
At the film's conclusion, Dap’s rallying cry to “wake up” still resonates today, as our community continues to grapple with the concept of being “woke.” In recent years, the term has been co-opted and distorted, becoming a target of ridicule under labels like "wokeism," "woke capitalism," and even “woke as a cult.” Critics have twisted its meaning, associating it with Marxism, political correctness, or even criminal behavior. These attacks are not only ignorant but also serve as calculated attempts to discredit and silence dissenting voices.
Being woke, at its core, is about recognizing and addressing the inequities embedded in our society. It is rooted in our lived experiences as African Americans and extends to all forms of systemic injustice. For those who lack these experiences, I say: if you haven’t walked in our shoes, don’t speak on them. No—shut the hell up.
The idea of being woke is not new. It has been a part of our collective consciousness as Black people since at least the 1930s and can even be traced to the 1860s, with the Wide Awakes movement—a paramilitary group of both Black and White abolitionists. Throughout African American literature, from Zora Neale Hurston to James Baldwin, the theme of being woke to injustice and oppression recurs time and again. Yet, those unfamiliar with our culture and experiences continue to misrepresent and weaponize it, spreading misconceptions to deny the systemic nature of racism and patriarchy.
Movements like Black Lives Matter, often dismissed as “cult activism,” did not invent the concept of being woke. Its origins lie in centuries of activism, advocacy, and awareness. For me, being woke means having a conscience, staying alert to the inadequacies of our democracy, and speaking truth to power.
Spike Lee’s School Daze is a reminder that the divisions within our community are not entirely of our own making. They are remnants of colonialism, patriarchy, and white fragility—forces that persist, often disguised, in our modern lives. These are diseases that fester in our society, mutating into new forms, yet rooted in the same oppressive structures.
If you haven’t seen School Daze in a while, I encourage you to revisit it. It captures a vibrant period of African-American culture while delivering a message that remains just as relevant today. And above all—stay woke.
Bill Lee
Hashtag #schooldaze
This was powerful. It seems we need a constant reminder about our history to understand who WE ARE and the continued threat against of our people.
MVP