The New Religion of ‘Woke’

“Woke” anti-racism is ascendant in our culture. But contrary to the claims of its advocates, it encourages, rather than combats, racism. And it actively harms, rather than helps, the people it claims to care about. So argues John McWhorter in Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America. In this New Ideal essay published November 3, 2021, Elan Journo discusses McWhorter’s trenchant book. “Woke” anti-racism, McWhorter argues convincingly, is animated not by a commitment to facts and evidence, but a zealot’s mentality. It is in fact a new religion. Narrated by Alex Wigger.