![The New Yorker on X: "William Melvin Kelley was the first writer to use the word “woke” in print, in 1962, in a Times Op-Ed entitled, “If You're Woke, You Dig It.” The New Yorker on X: "William Melvin Kelley was the first writer to use the word “woke” in print, in 1962, in a Times Op-Ed entitled, “If You're Woke, You Dig It.”](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUdyql6X4AAXS8i.jpg)
The New Yorker on X: "William Melvin Kelley was the first writer to use the word “woke” in print, in 1962, in a Times Op-Ed entitled, “If You're Woke, You Dig It.”
![If You're Woke You Dig It; No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today's Negro idiom without a hip assist. If You're Woke You Dig It - The New York Times If You're Woke You Dig It; No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today's Negro idiom without a hip assist. If You're Woke You Dig It - The New York Times](https://s1.nyt.com/timesmachine/pages/1/1962/05/20/140720532_360W.png?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
If You're Woke You Dig It; No mickey mouse can be expected to follow today's Negro idiom without a hip assist. If You're Woke You Dig It - The New York Times
![Live Deliberately, Stay Woke: Thoreau's Influence on William Melvin Kelley in: Thoreau in an Age of Crisis Live Deliberately, Stay Woke: Thoreau's Influence on William Melvin Kelley in: Thoreau in an Age of Crisis](https://brill.com/display/book/9783846765456/9783846765456_webready_content_m00027.jpg)
Live Deliberately, Stay Woke: Thoreau's Influence on William Melvin Kelley in: Thoreau in an Age of Crisis
![The Origin Of Woke: William Melvin Kelley Is The 'Woke' Godfather We Never Acknowledged - Okayplayer The Origin Of Woke: William Melvin Kelley Is The 'Woke' Godfather We Never Acknowledged - Okayplayer](https://www.okayplayer.com/media-library/the-origin-of-woke-william-melvin-kelley-is-the-woke-godfather-we-never-acknowledged.jpg?id=33172932&width=760&quality=90)
The Origin Of Woke: William Melvin Kelley Is The 'Woke' Godfather We Never Acknowledged - Okayplayer
![The Origin Of Woke: William Melvin Kelley Is The 'Woke' Godfather We Never Acknowledged - Okayplayer The Origin Of Woke: William Melvin Kelley Is The 'Woke' Godfather We Never Acknowledged - Okayplayer](https://www.okayplayer.com/media-library/the-origin-of-woke-william-melvin-kelley-is-the-woke-godfather-we-never-acknowledged.jpg?id=33172931&width=760&quality=90)