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Language is alive, and like any living thing, it changes with time. Enter the debate around the phrase 鈥減eople of color鈥� or POC, which some have begun to .

To better understand how people relate to POC versus , podcast shared listeners鈥� thoughts on the show and  Wednesday (Sept. 30) in the episode, 鈥溾��

To begin with, the language that Black people have used to self-identify over the decades has changed. For example,  started using 鈥溾�� interchangeably with Black. And now there鈥檚 the more recent introduction of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Last year, activist wrote in a that 鈥淏lack is not synonymous with POC: all Black people are persons of color, but all persons of color are not Black. And non-Black persons of color, or NBPOC, still benefit from and can practice anti-Black racism.鈥�

With these thoughts in mind, the 鈥淐ode Switch鈥� crew, hosts and , asked listeners whether it was time to retire POC for BIPOC, or best to avoid them all. See some of the highlights below:

POC = us:

鈥淚 like POC because it evokes an image of us, unlike the terms non-White or minority, where whiteness is front and center.鈥�  鈥� Javier Pineda, age 35 

Not all POC are the same:

鈥淚鈥檓 Egyptian American. Whenever asked about my ethnicity, I would always just say 鈥楨gyptian American,鈥� sometimes Arab American. As a White Egyptian, I鈥檝e never experienced the same oppression in the U.S. that other people of color have. 鈥� However, when placed in contrast to whiteness, it sort of creates this impression that anyone who is non-White is just under the same umbrella and is a monolith, which is very problematic.鈥� 鈥� Dina Shalash, 37

When White people use it, it鈥檚 weird:

鈥淚 liken the term 鈥� to mean solidarity among our collective experiences as non-White, especially our experiences as non-White in the United States. There鈥檚 obviously a lot of variation within those experiences. I just wish these terms were used more often to mean this coalition and not as a euphemism, like the way 鈥渄iverse鈥� is often used, especially by White people who don鈥檛 want to say Black.鈥� 鈥� Maricela Gonzelez, 29 

BIPOC, instead? Meh:

鈥淪urprisingly, I actually do hate BIPOC. Originally, I thought it referred to Black and Indigenous people of color, which I loved. But apparently it means Black, Indigenous and people of color, which is just a longer version of POC, but it makes White people feel like they did something different, even though I鈥檓 sure it has origins with non-White folks. Yeah. Oh, well.鈥� 鈥� Kaylee Arnold, 29

So just use Black, thank you:

鈥淚 feel that the term POC is nonsense, and I think it鈥檚 a way for non-Black people to sit comfortably in their anti-Blackness because they鈥檙e so afraid to say Black. So they come up with these terms that make them feel comfortable, with their whiteness or their adjacency to whiteness. And I get irritated鈥攏ot irritated, vexed鈥攚hen people refer to me as POC or BIPOC. Like, no, absolutely not. I鈥檓 Black, don鈥檛 play me.鈥� 鈥� Christine Harris, 21

To listen to the , click below:

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