In 1895 Oscar Wilde wrote a character in The Importance of Being Earnest named Cecily, who uttered these words: “When I see a spade I call it a spade.” To which another character responded: “I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade.” At that time the phrase was a term referring to speaking truths, calling things out as they ought to be called.
But by the end of the Twenties a spade had become a derogatory slur against African Americans. Just a decade later “stay woke” was a lyric in a song inspired by the wrongly-accused Scottsboro Boys. It was a term advising African Americans to be alert towards pending trouble, particularly any sort of racial or social injustice.
