{"id":2642464,"date":"2026-08-10T01:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-does-woke-1-mean-and-where-does-the-term-come-from-what-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T01:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:21:39","slug":"what-does-woke-1-mean-and-where-does-the-term-come-from-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-does-woke-1-mean-and-where-does-the-term-come-from-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What does &#8216;Woke 1&#8217; mean, and where does the term come from? What to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhat-does-woke-1-mean-and-where-does-the-term-come-from-what-to-know%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2642464&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a new term, &#8220;Woke 1,&#8221; to describe the current wave of socialism within the Democratic Party, contrasting it with the more cultural &#8220;woke&#8221; movement of 2020. During an interview on ABC\u2019s This Week, she discussed how the social and political climate during COVID-19-characterized by protests, lockdowns, and social upheaval-expanded the range of acceptable ideas (the Overton window), leading to more radical policies and rhetoric. Ocasio-Cortez noted that many candidates associated with this era are now moderating thier views, frequently enough backtracking on previous radical statements. She referenced New York City Council Member Chi Osse, who coined &#8220;Woke 1&#8221; in 2026 to criticize the extremity of certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-army-navy-nominees-pushed-dei-ideology-in-the-military\/\" title=\"Biden&#039;s Army, Navy Nominees Pushed DEI Ideology In The Military\">identity-based politics<\/a> during the pandemic&#8217;s peak. The term came from osse\u2019s remark that &#8220;Woke 1 was crazy&#8221; in response to past beliefs like abolishing prisons or supporting defunding police, which have since been softened or denied by some candidates. Ocasio-Cortez also highlighted the ideological struggles within the Democratic Party, with some fearing that socialist and culture-war stances could harm electoral prospects in November. She acknowledged that rhetoric during the COVID-19 lockdown was more radical than what is currently being expressed and expressed hope that candidates now have the prospect to present their true positions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-NY) debuted a new phrase on Sunday meant to distinguish the current rise of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/socialism\/\">socialism<\/a> in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\">Democratic Party<\/a> from the \u201cwoke\u201d cultural peak of 2020 that featured <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1382505\/democrats-flee-from-defund-the-police-movement-exposing-deep-rifts\/\">ubiquitous calls<\/a> from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\">Democrats<\/a> to defund the police during the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/covid-19\/\">COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SFwAnMLBSOw\">While speaking<\/a> with Jonathan Karl on ABC\u2019s <em>This Week<\/em>, the prominent socialist and potential 2028 presidential candidate was asked about Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/francesca-hong\/\">Francesca Hong\u2019s<\/a> prior support for abolishing prisons and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4676618\/francesca-hong-thanksgiving-favorite-holiday\/\">canceling Thanksgiving<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4680628\/what-does-woke-1-mean-what-to-know\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>What does \u2018Woke 1\u2019 mean, and where does the phrase come from? What to know<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4680448\/aoc-freezes-her-eggs-i-think-its-bada\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>AOC freezes her eggs: \u2018I think it\u2019s bada**\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4680428\/aoc-not-ruled-out-possibility-2028-bid\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>AOC says she hasn\u2019t \u2018ruled out the possibility\u2019 of 2028 presidential bid<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/week-transcript-8-9-26-rep-alexandria-ocasio\/story?id=135487690\">she said<\/a> before confirming to Karl that Hong has \u201cmoved away from\u201d these positions. \u201cAnd I have a local city councilman who has this saying, \u2018Woke 1 was crazy,\u2019 and I think that what\u2019s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ocasio-Cortez was referring to New York City Council Member Chi Osse, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/district-36\/\">who represents<\/a> parts of the Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights neighborhoods in Brooklyn. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osse coined the phrase \u201cWoke 1\u201d in a May 2026 X post in which he responded to a user asking him about a comment he made in 2021 in which he said, \u201cA cis white man should not be the next speaker of the Council.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWoke 1 was crazyyy,\u201d Osse said in response, presumably claiming such identity-based prejudice was a product of the intensely liberal political climate that emerged in the spring and summer of 2020 following the murder of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/george-floyd\/\">George Floyd<\/a> and subsequent <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/black-lives-matter\/\">Black Lives Matter<\/a> protests. The era\u2019s racial strife unfolded alongside <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2064411\/don-lemon-says-unvaccinated-people-should-be-shunned-or-left-behind\/\">calls from Democrats<\/a> for vaccine and mask mandates and sweeping shutdowns that disrupted local commerce and prolonged the closure of in-person classrooms.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Woke 1 was crazyyyy<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chi Oss\u00e9 (@OsseChi) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OsseChi\/status\/2057879171108376970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Socialist candidates running for office in 2026, such as Hong and Michigan Senate candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abdul-el-sayed\/\">Abdul el Sayed<\/a>, have recently attempted to backtrack on or qualify more radical comments they made during this \u201cWoke 1\u201d era. Hong <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4676618\/francesca-hong-thanksgiving-favorite-holiday\/\">said this week<\/a> she no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/francesca-hong-backs-away-from-2020-white-supremacy-police-claim\/\" title=\"... backs away from 2020 &#039;white supremacy&#039; ... claim\">longer believes police exist<\/a> to uphold white supremacy, while el Sayed has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4639642\/michigan-el-sayed-defund-the-police-2020-cnn-review\/\">similarly denied<\/a> he supported defunding the police despite interview appearances and since<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-star-chandler-jones-claims-raiders-sent-crisis-response-to-his-home-just-days-before-kickoff\/\" title=\"NFL star Chandler Jones alleges that the Raiders sent a crisis response team to his house shortly before the game.\">-deleted social media posts<\/a> from the time period that suggest he did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ocasio-Cortez seems to agree with Osse\u2019s assessment that the COVID-19 era was particularly rife with fringe political ideas that fell far outside the mainstream but were elevated by the time period\u2019s unprecedented social and cultural climate. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that during this time, especially during COVID, there was a huge opening of the Overton window,\u201d she said, referring to the range of political ideas a society deems permissible at a given time. \u201cWe were shut down, there was some of the highest unemployment rates that we have seen because of these shutdowns. And I think that the doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4680435\/aoc-lockdown-rhetoric-defund-the-police-support\/\"><strong>AOC BLAMES 2020 LOCKDOWN \u2018RHETORIC\u2019 FOR PAST \u2018DEFUND THE POLICE\u2019 SUPPORT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s usage of the phrase comes at a particular moment for the Democratic Party, as recent primary elections throughout the country have pitted socialist, typically younger candidates against more established incumbents. The result has been a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4627756\/carville-schism-socialist-candidate\/\">struggle over the ideological direction<\/a> of the party, as some <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4674936\/democrats-midterm-messaging-affordability-prioritize-local-issues\/\">Democratic strategists fear<\/a> the socialists\u2019 anti-Israel views and broader culture-war agenda will harm the party in November. Controversy has also surrounded viral internet personality <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hasan-piker\/\">Hasan Piker<\/a>, who is infamous for saying America deserved the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and has streamed with Ocasio-Cortez, el Sayed, and Hong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that, you know, during lockdown, of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric we would use today,\u201d Ocasio-Cortez also said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m glad that these candidates have the opportunity to present who they are to their electorate and what they\u2019re campaigning on in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AOC introduces new term to differentiate current socialism from 2020 &#8220;woke&#8221; peak<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3238,"featured_media":2642465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26200714603582-e1786294600865.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8814,17984,36479,25279,5558],"class_list":["post-2642464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-definition","tag-origin","tag-social-issues","tag-terminology","tag-woke"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26200714603582-e1786294600865.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2642464"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642468,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642464\/revisions\/2642468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2642464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2642464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2642464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}