Queer People of Color (QPOC)

Queer People of Color (QPOC) centres the experiences of LGBTQ+ people who are also Black, Indigenous or people of colour, at the intersection of racism and anti-LGBTQ+ bias.

Definition

Queer People of Color (QPOC, sometimes QTPOC for queer and trans people of colour) is an umbrella for LGBTQ+ people who are also Black, Indigenous or people of colour. The term names a specific intersection of experiences, where racism and anti-LGBTQ+ bias overlap, and the community and organising that has grown around it.

The QPOC flag places a raised fist over the rainbow to signal solidarity and resistance.

Flag

Queer People of Color flag · c. 2020

The six-stripe rainbow flag with a raised brown or black fist in the centre, signalling solidarity between queer liberation and racial-justice movements. The fist colour varies.

Stripe	HEX	RGB	CMYK	Pantone	Meaning
Red	`#E40303`	228,3,3	C:0 M:99 Y:99 K:11	PMS Bright Red C	Life
Orange	`#FF8C00`	255,140,0	C:0 M:45 Y:100 K:0	PMS 1495 C	Healing
Yellow	`#FFED00`	255,237,0	C:0 M:7 Y:100 K:0	PMS 3945 C	Sunlight
Green	`#008026`	0,128,38	C:100 M:0 Y:70 K:50	PMS 7740 C	Nature
Blue	`#004DFF`	0,77,255	C:100 M:70 Y:0 K:0	PMS 2728 C	Harmony
Violet	`#750787`	117,7,135	C:13 M:95 Y:0 K:47	PMS 2607 C	Spirit

Full flag history →

History

QPOC organising has a long history, but the raised-fist QPOC flag became prominent around 2020 alongside the Black Lives Matter movement. It echoes earlier additions of black and brown stripes (the Philadelphia flag in 2017 and the Progress flag in 2018) that foregrounded LGBTQ+ people of colour.