I didn’t know he was black exactly, as I had bought the first New Mutants when he appears. He did look “darker”, I guessed he was sort of black-ish, knew he was from a rich spoiled Brazilian kid background though. It was pretty interesting back in the 80s. There wasn’t the internet and four TV channels, so I had no other ways to connect with popular current culture. It was back then a pretty bold move to introduce a rich international character who was non-white and put him on a team with a Korean, s girl from Scotland, a full Native American, and some hick from backwoods Kentucky who wasn’t too bright and was clumsy.