The phrase has a long history. In the colonial and antebellum eras, "free people of color" referred to free people of African descent, especially in places like New Orleans. The modern version took hold in the 1970s and 1980s as activists sought a term built on solidarity rather than on "nonwhite." Reproductive justice organizer Loretta Ross has described how the phrase "women of color" was adopted at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston.
The term is different from "colored people," which was imposed during segregation and is now considered offensive. People of color is a name groups chose for themselves to build coalitions.
Its limits are part of current debate. A single label can hide large differences in history, income and treatment. For example, Black and Native Americans face specific patterns of police violence and land loss that do not apply equally to all people of color. Many writers, including ARD, use the term for shared patterns and name specific groups whenever the data allows.