White liberal obsession with race, slavery and white supremacy started in 2012, according to sociologists. This trend was driven by the liberal media exponentially increasing its focus on these issues. Sociologists call it “The Great Awokening.”

The claim that a 'White liberal obsession with race, slavery and white supremacy started in 2012' and that sociologists call this trend 'The Great Awokening' is mostly false because scholarly sources show that discussions and critiques of race, white supremacy, and related issues have a much longer history predating 2012, and the term 'The Great Awokening' is not a recognized sociological concept in academic literature.

A Demographic Moral Panic: Fears of a Majority-Minority Future and the Depreciating Value of Whiteness - The University of Chicago Law Review
Source: lawreview.uchicago.edu

A Demographic Moral Panic: Fears of a Majority-Minority Future and the Depreciating Value of Whiteness - The University of Chicago Law Review
Source: lawreview.uchicago.edu

At a glance

Key Evidence

Verified October 23, 2025

Sociological literature traces critical engagement with white supremacy back to at least the mid-20th century.ucl.ac.uk en.wikipedia.org
Discussions of White liberal responses to racism predate 2012 and are part of ongoing debates.researchgate.net ugapress.manifoldapp.org
The term 'The Great Awokening' does not appear in scholarly sources as a recognized sociological concept.
Media focus on race issues increased notably after events like the Ferguson protests (post-2013), but this is distinct from an obsession starting exactly in 2012.

The reporting

What the Evidence Shows

Historical Context: Multiple sources indicate that the focus on race, white supremacy, and systemic racism in the United States has been ongoing for many decades. For example, (Wikipedia) notes that sociologist Howard Winant describes shifts in white supremacy discourse dating back to the mid-1960s, well before 2012.ucl.ac.uk en.wikipedia.org references discussions of white supremacy from as early as the 1950s.

Academic Discourse: discusses White liberals' engagement with systemic racism and performative allyship but does not date this phenomenon to starting in 2012.ugapress.manifoldapp.org researchgate.net explores liberal white supremacy as a concept without tying its emergence to a specific recent year.

Media and Sociological Trends: While there has been increased media attention on race-related issues in the 2010s, especially following events like the rise of Black Lives Matter around 2013, this does not equate to an 'obsession' starting precisely in 2012 nor is there evidence that sociologists coined or widely use the term 'The Great Awokening.' This phrase appears more as a cultural or political commentary rather than an academic term.

The claim that liberal media exponentially increased focus on these issues starting in 2012 is an oversimplification. Discussions about race and white supremacy have fluctuated over time with various peaks tied to social movements and political events but are not confined to a single start date.

No source among those provided identifies or validates 'The Great Awokening' as a sociological term or framework.

Overall, the claim conflates complex historical and sociological developments into a narrow timeframe and uses terminology not supported by academic sources.

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