David Lammy's powerful show of support for woke culture

23 January 2021, 17:28

David Lammy claps back against anti-woke agenda

This is David Lammy's powerful show of support for woke culture, while attacking politicians apprehensive about supporting the cause.

David Lammy explained that the concept of 'wokeness' is one's awareness of social justice issues and campaigning and supporting such causes in the modern day.

"That's the story of the 20th century," he began. "Folk that started that century subject to Jim Crow, colonised, segregated, separated.

"Women, who actually fought so hard to not be the property of their husbands or their fathers. LGBTQ communities who fought for their rights...and working people who were down mines and in factories with no rights at all"

"The great story of the 20th century is people getting access to their rights, able to be who you want to be in your lifetime."

David reminded listeners that the fight for equality and recognition is by no means at its end, insisting that injustices still occur "in so many ways."

"Being woke is being alive to that."

Read More: 'Corporates that pretend to be woke are not your friend'

David then took aim at Boris Johnson, who was apprehensive in supporting 'wokeness' in a press conference this week.

"Why have we got a prime minister that's so uncomfortable with associating himself with that fantastic movement?"

He added that a failure to support the cause leads to the nation being polarised, citing the prime minister's questionable description of Muslim women in an article in the past.

"I want to defend the phrase 'woke,'" David said, reminding us that the UK fought against this sort of intolerance in WWII and must stand by our principles of recognition and support for those in minority groups.