A book full of angry black feminist op-eds and rants written by this black girl so keep your misogynoir to yourself ✨
i am not a teacher so please don't ask me teach you or educate you... google is free✨
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
by Jasmine
To the people who call Black people "people of color," stop it. To the people who call Black women, "women of color," cut it out. To the people still using "minority in 2020, knock it off. If you're talking about Black people, say Black— its not a bad word. You're doing more harm than good when you say POC and I'm going to tell you why.
First, some context. The term "person of color" is used to refer to non-white people. Activists and academics began using the term during the 1970s to counter the use of words like "minority" and "colored." POC was also meant to be inclusive and move the racism conversation beyond a black-white issue. By the 1990s, POC joined the mainstream dialogue and became an accepted way to identify people who aren't white.
You should stop saying POC because it erases Black people and implies that all non-white people share the same experiences. The same goes for "minority." While every non-white group in the US faces some form of discrimination, lumping all their issues under a POC umbrella implies that there is a one size fits all approach to equality.
The truth is that racism does not impact all people of color in the same way. Let's use income and wealth inequality as an example. In the US, the racial income and wealth gap is a serious issue. Racist practices such as redlining and lending, educational, and employment discrimination have set Black people behind in generating generational wealth and contributes to why Black people are more likely to live in poverty.
Framing income and wealth inequality as a POC issue isn't entirely accurate because Asian Americans have a much higher annual income than other non-white groups and whites. In the US miraculously decided to pass one size fits all legislature to close the racial income and wealth gap between whites and people of color, Asian Americans would continue to do well and the gap would actually widen. This goes into the equality vs equity conversation.
Another issue with labeling Black people as POC is that anti-blackness exists in other non-white communities. I'm aware that anti-blackness is a symptom of imperialism, assimilation, and white supremacy but there's no excuse. The fact of the matter is that many non-white people have bought into anti-blackness because they see benefits that come with a proximity to whiteness.
The reality is that Black people suffer the most from racism and grouping specifically Black issues under POC is harmful. This is not to say that I'm opposed to interracial solidarity. I just believe that placing every non-white person in the same category is limiting.
A slightly better term is "BIPOC" which stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. BIPOC is better because it makes Natives visible in the conversation and requires all groups to interrogate their relationship to white supremacy.
All in all, say Black when you talkin' 'bout Black people.
Thanks for reading. Don't forget to comment and vote ✨
follow jasthefeminist on instagram for visuals to go with every chapter, fun facts, and random thoughts
