Let’s talk plainly.
“People of Colour” is a term many of us use with good intentions. It seems inclusive. It sounds polite. It tries to group together everyone who isn’t White under one collective umbrella. But let’s pause and ask: inclusive of what, exactly? And at what cost?
White is a Colour Too
The phrase “People of Colour” implicitly positions White as the norm, the default. Everyone else? A deviation. A collective other. That’s not equity. That’s erasure.
And let’s be real White is a colour. Just as much a social construct as any other racial identity. Yet when we say, “People of Colour”, we create a binary: White people on one side, and everyone else lumped together as a monolith. That’s not how racial identity works. That’s not how culture, struggle, or joy works either.
The Problem with the Umbrella
“People of Colour” tries to unite people with vastly different experiences Caribbean, , Asian, Indigenous, African, Arab, and more into one category. But it often does so in ways that mask unique struggles and erase individual identities.
What happens when you group everyone together? You risk:
- Ignoring anti-Black racism by diluting it.
- Minimising the lived realities of South Asian or East Asian communities.
- Forgetting the sovereignty and displacement of Indigenous people.
- Overlooking colourism, internal racism, and layered identities.
One label. Many erasures.
We Need Specificity, Not Simplicity
Instead of “People of Colour”, say what you really mean.
- Talking about racism faced by people and communities experiencing racism.
- Talking about anti-Muslim hate? Say Muslim or South Asian, or the specific ethnic group.
- Talking about systemic exclusion in leadership? Name the exact ethnic or racial disparities.
Language shapes how we see people. If we’re serious about equality, we must move away from language that blurs the lines and reassert real, specific visibility.
So, What Should We Say Instead?
Use terms that are accurate, respectful, and rooted in context. Ask people how they identify. Centre their voice, not colonial language hand-me-downs.
Because when we lump everyone into “People of Colour”, we centre Whiteness once again by making it the one identity that doesn’t need a collective label.
It’s time to flip that script.