Title: BIPOC Meaning | What Is BIPOC, and How Did Its Definition Evolve?
Headings: What Does BIPOC Stand For? Why It’s Important to Know What This Acronym Means
What Does BIPOC Stand For? Why It’s Important to Know What This Acronym Means
Have you been seeing this term a lot lately? Here’s what it means and when you should—and shouldn't—use it.
What is BIPOC?
The benefits of using BIPOC
Some people take offense to the term people of color
Language has immense power
When to stay general and when to get specific
Sources:
Black Businesses to Support
Quotes in the Fight Against Racism
Podcasts About Race You Need to Hear
Popular Videos

Content: The benefits of using BIPOC
Regardless of whether BIPOC is redundant or lacks consensus about its definition, activist Allie Young considers it a plus that the term is even being spoken. Young is the founder of Protect the Sacred, a grassroots organization that advocates on behalf of and serves the Navajo Nation, and she thinks the fact that a widely used acronym centers Indigenous people in its construct is an important step forward. “ For me, as an Indigenous person, I actually like the term because it names Indigenous people,” she explains. “ We’re often left out of the conversation [and face] invisibility every day. And so, to be named and specified in BIPOC, for me, is significant.” Buscher adds that because BIPOC has become part of the lexicon of activism, Indigenous people are now more often part of conversations about institutional racism in the United States. That is progress in and of itself. “ Unless you live in a place that has a reservation nearby,” he says, “most people don’t think about Native Americans at all—full stop.” It’s also about solidarity and the commitment of mutual support by activists from different ethnic backgrounds. As they say, there is strength in numbers, and that’s important for all members of these communities, but perhaps even more so for Native Americans, who, through BIPOC’s meaning, are included in the broader fight for social justice in a way that the terms people of color and POC do not directly indicate. “