John McWhorter wasn't trying to be a contrarian for the sake of it. When the Columbia University linguist started writing about the shift in American discourse, he noticed something weird. It wasn't just politics anymore. It felt like Sunday morning at a cathedral, but without the actual pews. He argues that woke racism how a new religion has betrayed black america isn't just a catchy subtitle; it’s a literal description of a sociological shift that is hurting the very people it claims to protect.
The world changed fast after 2020. You saw it in HR seminars. You saw it in elementary school curricula. But beneath the surface-level "equity" talk, a lot of Black thinkers are pointing out that this new orthodoxy looks less like progress and more like a psychological trap. It’s a dogma. It has its own original sin (privilege), its own clergy (academic "experts"), and its own heretics (anyone who asks for data).
The Birth of the "Elect"
McWhorter uses the term "The Elect" to describe the people pushing this specific brand of identity politics. He isn't talking about all liberals or even everyone who wants to fight racism. He’s talking about a specific group that views the world through a singular, unwavering lens of power dynamics.
Honestly, it's exhausting.
Think about the core tenets. You’re told that if you’re Black, you are essentially a victim by default. The system is so rigged that your personal agency is basically a myth. If you’re white, you’re born with a stain you can never quite wash away. This isn't just a political disagreement. It’s a theological framework. It demands "the work," which is just a secular version of penance.
But here is the kicker: this framework actually infantilizes Black people.
When a school board decides that expecting Black students to show up on time or get the right answer in math is "white supremacy," they aren't helping. They’re suggesting Black kids aren't capable of meeting basic standards. That is, by definition, racist. It’s just wrapped in the soft, fuzzy blanket of "wokeness."
Why the Religious Comparison Actually Sticks
Most religions offer some form of redemption. This one doesn't.
In traditional faiths, you confess, you do better, and you're forgiven. In the world of "anti-racism" as defined by authors like Ibram X. Kendi or Robin DiAngelo, the struggle is eternal. You are never "not racist." You are only ever "continually engaging in the process." It’s a treadmill.
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- Original Sin: Your skin color determines your moral standing before you even open your mouth.
- Excommunication: Say the wrong thing, or even the right thing in the wrong way, and you’re canceled. No debate. No context. Just gone.
- The Clergy: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultants who charge $20,000 for a weekend retreat to tell employees they are inherently problematic.
The data on these DEI sessions is pretty grim. A Harvard study by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev analyzed decades of diversity training and found that it often increases bias rather than reducing it. Why? Because people hate being told they’re bad people. It creates resentment. For Black employees, it can create a "stigma consciousness" where they become hyper-aware of potential slights, leading to more stress, not less.
The Betrayal of the Black Middle Class
Let’s talk about the actual impact on Black communities.
For decades, the goal of the Civil Rights Movement was integration and equal opportunity. It was about getting a seat at the table. Now, the new religion suggests the table itself is the problem and should probably be burned down.
This hurts the Black middle class.
When activists demand "defunding the police," they aren't usually the ones living in neighborhoods where violent crime is a daily reality. According to Gallup polling, the vast majority of Black Americans—about 81%—actually want the same or more police presence in their neighborhoods. They want better policing, obviously, but they don't want no policing.
When elite "woke" activists push for abolitionist policies, they are often betraying the actual safety needs of Black residents in Chicago, Baltimore, or St. Louis. It’s a luxury belief. It’s an idea that makes a wealthy person feel virtuous while the consequences fall on someone else entirely.
Education and the "Big Softie" Approach
One of the most damaging parts of this new orthodoxy is what’s happening in schools. There is a move away from meritocracy in the name of "equity."
In Oregon, a few years back, the Department of Education sent out a toolkit suggesting that the focus on finding the "right answer" in math was a manifestation of white supremacy. Imagine being a Black parent and hearing that. You want your child to be an engineer? A pilot? A surgeon? Those jobs require the "right answer."
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By lowering standards under the guise of helping, these institutions are actually ensuring that Black students are less prepared for the competitive global economy. It’s a betrayal of the highest order.
Instead of teaching the "three Rs," some schools are spending hours on "social-emotional learning" that focuses on privilege checks.
It’s performative.
It doesn't help a kid read. It doesn't help a kid code. It just helps them feel like a victim or a villain before they’ve even hit puberty.
The Language Trap: Latinx and Other Inventions
You’ve probably seen the word "Latinx."
About 3% of Hispanic people actually use it. It’s a term created in elite academic circles and pushed by HR departments. The same thing is happening within Black discourse. Words like "bodies" or "folks" (spelled with an 'x') are used to signal "wokeness," but they alienate the average person.
When you focus on language policing, you aren't fixing the wealth gap. You aren't fixing healthcare disparities. You’re just playing a high-stakes game of Scrabble where the rules change every week.
If you don’t keep up, you’re "problematic."
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This creates a barrier to entry for working-class people of all races who don't have time to learn the new glossary of "correct" terms. It makes progressivism a club for the highly educated and the highly wealthy.
Practical Steps Toward Real Progress
If the "new religion" is a dead end, where do we go? We have to get back to things that actually move the needle. Reality is messy. It doesn't fit into a 280-character tweet.
1. Focus on Neoliberal Solutions that Work
Look at the success of charter schools like Success Academy in New York. They serve predominantly Black and Brown students and achieve test scores that rival or beat the wealthiest white suburbs. They do it through high expectations, discipline, and a focus on core subjects. That is real equity.
2. Prioritize Economic Development
Wealth is the great equalizer. Supporting Black-owned businesses and focusing on trade schools and vocational training provides a path to independence that doesn't rely on the "permission" of white liberals or the "charity" of a DEI department.
3. Reject Victimhood as an Identity
It is possible to acknowledge that systemic hurdles exist without making those hurdles your entire personality. Agency matters. In his book, McWhorter argues that telling Black people they are powerless until "the system" changes is a psychological poison.
4. Demand Accountability, Not Performance
Stop letting corporations off the hook because they posted a black square on Instagram. If a company wants to help, they should hire from HBCUs, invest in underserved neighborhoods, and stop the expensive, divisive seminars that do nothing but keep HR consultants in business.
The "woke" movement has become a religion that feeds on guilt and resentment. It’s time to move past the liturgy and get back to the actual work of building a country where people are judged, as a certain famous preacher once said, by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
To move forward, we have to be willing to be "heretics." We have to be willing to look at data over dogma. We have to be willing to say that Black America deserves better than a new religion that offers no salvation.
The next step is simple but difficult: speak up. When you see a policy that lowers standards in the name of equity, call it out. When you see language being used to exclude rather than include, ignore it. Focus on the tangible—education, safety, and wealth—and leave the performance to the actors.