Title: What Does BIPOC Stand for? Here’s Why You Should Consider Using the Term to Be More Inclusive
Headings: What Does BIPOC Stand for? Here’s Why You Should Consider Using the Term to Be More Inclusive
What Does BIPOC Stand for? Here’s Why You Should Consider Using the Term to Be More Inclusive
Content: Over time, we started to reclaim so many words that were an attempt to alienate us and bring us down. While we’ve been accustomed to using the term people of color (POC) to describe many from around the world, there’s an emerging term that has begun to gain momentum in an effort to be more inclusive and bring more individuals into the conversation. The term BIPOC represents Black, Indigenous and People of Color. According to The BIPOC Project, it’s a way of building a collective community and “undoing Native invisibility, anti-Blackness, dismantling white supremacy and advancing racial justice.” © Provided by Shutterstock Businesswoman in hijab having a video chat on laptop So why should we use BIPOC over POC? Using the term promotes the inclusion of all people of color who have also been mistreated, misrepresented and discriminated against for the color of their skin, their culture or their way of life. It unites marginalized communities together, uplifts their voices and highlights all multiracial backgrounds in a way that doesn’t erase the identities of other people of color like Black and Indigenous people. But, is it bad to just use POC? No, but keep in mind that some stories, issues or representations exclude Black and Indigenous people. Sometimes the word POC can be perceived that all people of color (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, etc)have the same exact experiences with injustice.