"Students of Color"—Whoooo Did This?!?!!

Who sat around a table and said, “We can’t call them what we really want to call them, and we can’t say 'colored' anymore, so let’s go with 'students of color'?” How is this any better or different? I hate it.

Yes, I realize that’s the term the academic field is using, but I don’t like it, and I don’t use it. I name the populations I’m talking about. Black students. Black students are called everything in the book but Black. Just say Black.

I don’t care for “African American” much either. A lot of Black Americans don’t know exactly where we came from because of... well, slavery. So, just call us Black. We’re Black.

Who sat around a table and said, “We can’t call them what we really want to call them, and we can’t say 'colored' anymore, so let’s go with 'students of color'?” How is this any better or different? I hate it.

Yes, I realize that’s the term the academic field is using, but I don’t like it, and I don’t use it. I name the populations I’m talking about. Black students. Black students are called everything in the book but Black. Just say Black.

I don’t care for “African American” much either. A lot of Black Americans don’t know exactly where we came from because of... well, slavery. So, just call us Black. We’re Black.

The Consequences of Generalization

The problem with “students of color” isn’t just that it’s vague—it’s that this vagueness leads to real-world consequences. When we generalize by lumping Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and other non-white groups together, we erase the specific challenges each group faces.

For Black students, these challenges include things like disproportionate disciplinary actions, overrepresentation in special education for Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD), and systemic barriers that have been embedded into education for generations. When we say “students of color,” we risk creating one-size-fits-all solutions that don’t address the particular needs of Black students.

Research and policy often follow the terminology. So, when policymakers design interventions or research outcomes for “students of color,” they overlook the differences in cultural, historical, and institutional contexts. That leads to inadequate responses, band-aid fixes, and ultimately, continued disparities in achievement, opportunity, and treatment.

If we aren’t intentional about naming and addressing the specific populations we’re talking about, we’ll keep applying blanket strategies that don’t work. And when those strategies fail, we’ll still be sitting here talking about the same problems. Just say Black.