Title: Which is right? Black vs. BIPOC vs. African American vs. POC vs. BAME
Headings: Which is the correct term? Black vs. BIPOC vs. African American vs. POC vs. BAME
Which is the correct term? Black vs. BIPOC vs. African American vs. POC vs. BAME
Black
Is Black a negative word? NO.
POC
BIPOC
African-American
ADOS (American Descendant of Slavery)
Black-American
BAME
The Black Lives Matter movement is exactly that—Black
When in doubt: be specific.
Why should you care?
So writers, media, and everyday people, please research these terms further on your own time if you intend to use them!
Did you learn anything reading this? Are you hearing of any of these terms for the first time?
Let’s chat in the comments.
Gabby Beckford

Content: That’s it! There is a lot of terminology floating around with different ways to refer to ethnic minorities. Which are correct, in what context, and why? See my ideas on the topic here. Click To Tweet
BIPOC
BIPOC stands for Black/Indigenous/People of Color. This term has gained recent popularity as talks about race and individual racial experiences develop. BIPOC is rising in popularity because it is more nuanced than POC toward the unique history and experiences that Black and Indigenous people face in the United States. Black people suffer unnecessarily because the color of our skin is not valued in a white-centric society. Indigenous people are continually erased, stolen from, and neglected American society. While each individual race has their own struggles and none overshadows another, in the United States I believe it to be important to single out the Indigenous and Black experiences.