person of color

noun

plural people of color also persons of color

: a person whose skin pigmentation is other than and especially darker than what is considered characteristic of people typically defined as white (see white entry 1 sense 2a) : a person who is of a race (see race entry 1 sense 1a) other than white or who is of mixed race

People of color account for 43 percent of the active-duty military, but the top ranks are largely white and male.

—Helene Cooper

Because we are so accustomed to talking about race in terms of black and white, we often fail to recognize and contest expressions of racism that target people of color who are not black.

—Angela Y. Davis

Examples of person of color in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Without him, the county, which is about 39% White, would have no person of color on the board — unless Scales-Preston is elected. —East Bay Times Editorial, The Mercury News, 1 Oct. 2024

California has never elected a woman as governor, and a person of color has held the office only once: Gov. Romualdo Pacheco, for just a few months in 1875. —Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024

In June, the Latino actor took out a full-page ad in the New York Times urging the TV Academy to nominate a wider breadth of talent, from persons of color to the LGBTQ+ community. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2024

Colleges began recruiting from, or become more generous in assessing applications from high schools, neighborhoods or zip codes where there is substantial poverty and primarily persons of color. —Scott White, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1778, in the meaning defined above