Some Observations on John McWhorter’s “Woke Racism”

For over two decades, Columbia University professor, John McWhorter, has produced anti-racial justice commentary, which has been eagerly lapped up by his racist fanbase. McWhorter, a self-described liberal (who is Black) is someone who implies that Black people should be grateful that slavery and Jim Crow were abolished; that modern racism is insignificant; and that anti-racism is a threat to American society.

In his 2021 book, Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America, McWhorter unleashes a tirade against what he perceives as the evils of anti-racism which he labels as “woke racism.” When these kinds of sentiments are expressed by a Black intellectual, they are, of course, given more credibility, which is why McWhorter is especially popular among racist commentators. Indeed, at the time of writing this article, McWhorter is following and followed by a number of well-known racists on Twitter, including notorious racial realist Charles Murray, one of the authors of the infamous book, The Bell Curve.

Woke Racism (2021) is McWhorter’s latest publication. It builds on his previous work, focusing on what he considers are the harms of anti-racism, particularly following the 2020 racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. An earlier book Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America (2000) argues that it is Black people’s culture, attitudes and behavior rather than racial discrimination that causes Black disadvantage; this theme is expanded upon in Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America (2005).

Woke Racism is a deeply disingenuous book, underpinned by layers of obfuscation. Its very title flippantly implies that being anti-racist (woke) is the equivalent of engaging in racial discrimination — an insult to all those who have dealt with and continue to deal with the very real effects of systemic and everyday racism. Moreover, the buzzword, “woke racism” is an affront to those who have lost their lives as a result of racial injustice or sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of racial justice.

While McWhorter tries to give the impression that his main concern is the anti-racism that has evolved over the last decade, the fact is, McWhorter has been engaged in anti-racial justice efforts throughout his long career. Indeed, in Woke Racism, he reveals his discomfort even with the anti-racist thought of the late 1960s:

“… since the late 1960s a contingent of black thinkers has tended to insist that things are as bad [today] as they were in 1940, leaving many black people who actually experienced Jim Crow a tad perplexed and even put off.”

“Woke Racism” is Not Directed at “Black America”

Even though McWhorter implies in the title of Woke Racism that his aim is to help Black America, his statements in the book and interviews about the book indicate that he may be more interested in pandering to his racist fanbase. In the book, he alleges that “people in positions of influence are regularly being chased from their posts because of claims that they are insufficiently antiracist.” Additionally, in an interview with Columbia News, McWhorter shares that what prompted him to write the book was alarm and anger due to his belief that white people are being harmed by wokeism:

“I was alarmed and even angry to see how many people were being fired, suspended, and publicly shamed for transgressions of what we might call ‘woke’ etiquette starting in the spring of 2020.”

Yet despite the ever-growing list of Black lives snuffed out by the police (some 50 years after Jim Crow) it seems that McWhorter is more concerned about the feelings of white people “in positions of influence” and is selective about the kinds of “injustices” that make him angry.

In the preface, McWhorter claims that the book is not targeted to right-wing America but the fact that he feels the need to make this statement is telling. Be that as it may, it is misleading to imply that Woke Racism doesn’t promote far-right talking points while at the same time appearing on numerous alt-lite and right-wing media outlets to promote the book.

Woke Racism is itself racist — a morally bankrupt book written for a racist, morally bankrupt audience; a garbled collection of reactionary rants which would never have seen the light of day, had the author not been Black. This is part of a backlash against perceived progress in racial justice, being framed by racist individuals as a battle against “wokeness.” While Woke Racism is presented by McWhorter as an attempt to save his fellow Black people from the “anti-racism religion,” make no mistake, this is a book which is intended to whip up resentment and prevent progress in racial justice.