Photographer Catharina Pavitschitz [IG] adds poetic beauty to the pages of Vogue Portugal’s [IG] December 2023 ‘Love and Hope’ issue with ‘Amor e Cia’ [Love and Company].

Models include Aria [Shine], Maansi Mehta, Marlo Hsieh and Nikita Nightingale, styled by Joanne M Kennedy./ Makeup and hair by Tom Fraser

Vogue Portugal has an exemplary history in dealing with deeply-challenging issues of skin color, as it impacts racial identity and global culture images.

The History of Skin Color

AOC has studied the topic of skin color since 2001, becoming deeply-focused on it since Charlottesville 2017, the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president of America, and the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Anne’s involvement in social justice movements has defined much of her life and has always been a quiet but steady focus on Anne of Carversville.

The research on exactly when a person’s skin color became a racial demarcation around human value is clear and not disputed by any facts we know about. Our AI assistant Lulu, reviewed the three AI research platforms we pay for this morning, and AOC’s position remains unchallenged.

In many societies, including ancient civilizations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, skin color was not initially a defining factor for racial identity. Instead, factors such as language, culture, and geographical origin played a more important role in distinguishing between different groups of people.

The Vatican and Slavery

As European powers began to expand their empires through colonization, the concept of race as a hierarchical system based on physical attributes — particularly skin color — gained traction. This intellectual position was driven by the need to justify the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous populations and the mass enslavement of Africans across the continent.

The Vatican occupies a position of great prominence at the historical heart of the global slave trade, dating back to the 15th century when Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas in 1452, granting the Portuguese the right to enslave non-Christian peoples.

In recent years, the Vatican has acknowledged its historical role in the slave trade and expressed regret for the church's involvement. Pope John Paul II formally apologized for the Catholic Church's historical wrongdoings, including its role in the slave trade, during a public apology in 2000. Since then, the Vatican has continued to address its historical legacy and promote reconciliation and healing.

In 2024, the drive to accurately tell the facts of human history and ask important intellectual questions seems to be losing integrity on both the right and the left.

It’s time for AOC to take a more expansive view of our present reality on the topic of race, given the increasingly multi-racial world in which we live. This focus was ignited by Vogue Portugal with their December 2023 beauty story ‘Amor e Cia’ [Love and Company] this morning.

Many divisive elements are at play in global cultures. There is no need to list the pileup — and they exist on all sides. We will also focus inceasingly on the people who share our philosophy with their actions towards others — and the fight against the biggest actors who don’t.