In this clip, two students discuss the differences between Black people and people of color. They share an experience at their school in which administrators sent an email addressing the African American population and then sent a follow up email with a correction addressing all people of color. The two students talk about the importance of distinguishing the experiences of Black people and people of color because they aren’t the same and shouldn’t be treated as such. Combining all experiences under the umbrella term “people of color” erases the distinctness of different groups and conflates everyone to be the same. In this conversation, the students point out how Black experiences aren’t shared by all people of color and naming that isn’t a bad thing.
We all have our own experiences and we’re not going to belittle the Asian experience or the Latino experience because they can relate with us. We’re saying it’s okay to have a different experience and it all doesn’t have to be the Black experience.
