Term: "Women of Color"

The political term “women of color” surfaced in the violence against women movement in the late seventies to unify all women experiencing multiple layers of marginalization with race and ethnicity as a common issue. In recent years, the term has been questioned by many for valid reasons related to personal identity and definition, and because the word “color” is not the primary issue for many women with shared ethnicity and race.

We acknowledge these concerns. However, in our work and practice, the term “women of color” is intended to transcend and embrace shades of color and is intended to unite those of us with the following shared global experiences with relationship to varied Western and European-based cultures:

• Race, Class, Gender-based Oppression and all Intersections

• Militarism, Targets of War and Police State

• Displacement

• Loss of Autonomy

• Violence as the Norm

• Stolen Legacy

• Economic Disenfranchisement

• Cultural/Racial Appropriation and Genocide

We welcome all women of Asian/Pacific Islander, Arab/Middle-Eastern, Black/African, Native/Indigenous, and Hispanic/Latin descent and hope you will join us in rising above language for unity.