“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”
Chelsea Manalo, the first half Black winner of Miss Universe Philippines. In a sea of mestiza faces and Eurocentric beauty standards, may the sight of her lead the way out of internalized racism and plant the seed of self-acceptance in aspiring Black Filipino artists, models, and other public figures.
