The Problem with POC

Black people can be People of Color, but not all People of color are Black people.

And therein lies the problem.

People of Color, or POC, came into use by Black people in the 1960’s and it grew to include just about everyone in America who do not identity as white.

There was a certain camaraderie and inclusion built into the term and it was, in many parts of the country, welcomed with hope for a better union of people, ideas, and voting strategies.

POC as a popular way of identification also seemed to make sense as the nonwhite population grew and non African-American percentage of the non-white population declined.

The growth of Latino/Hispanic people pushed their populations past African-Americans, as was long predicted, but the diaspora of Latino/Hispanic people lacked the political capital of African-Americans who had begun occupying elected roles at all levels of local, State, and Federal positions following hard fought Civil Rights battles.

It was presumed that the interests of Latino/Hispanic people overlapped those of Black people — and indeed the Civil Rights work was designed to include all people who were negatively impacted by Jim Crow, segregation, and institutional racism.