BGIM: ‘POC’ is overused; we need to be more deliberate about naming the targets of racism

That is why we must be careful in using the phrase “people of color” and similar terminology. We cannot make the assumption that all people of color get the anti-racist work we are trying to do here in dismantling white supremacy. I myself as a Cambodian American adopted by white parents had to dismantle my own internalized racism and dispel the myth of the model minority status in order to fully see the rot of white supremacy throughout our society and our communities.

The very same reason why we opt to say “Black Lives Matter,” rather than “All Lives Matter,” applies when we talk about the differences and relationships between Black and brown people. We cannot turn a blind eye to how black and brown people themselves perpetuate white supremacy.

That is why if we are to do justice for all the Black lives lost, especially for brown and white allies, than we must not only speak truth to power—we must speak the whole truth to power. And sometimes the truth does hurt but it is the truth and nothing but the truth that will set us free.

Read the rest on the Black Girl In Maine website.