The term spread widely in 2020, during the protests after the police murder of George Floyd. Organizations adopted it in statements, hiring goals and grant programs. It built on the older phrase people of color, which had been in common use since the late 20th century.
Supporters say naming Black and Indigenous people first acknowledges that anti-Black racism and the dispossession of Native nations are foundational to the US. Those two histories, slavery and colonization, shaped the laws that govern race today.
The term also draws criticism, including from people it describes. Some say grouping very different communities under one label hides real differences in experience and data. Some people have never heard it, and many prefer to be named by their specific identity, such as Black, Navajo or Korean American. ARD uses BIPOC sparingly and prefers naming specific groups when the facts apply to one group. When a collective term is needed, the best guide is how a community describes itself.