Posted on June 8, 2011

Why the ‘B’ in ‘Black’ Is Capitalized at DiversityInc

Luke Visconti, DiversityInc, June 8, 2011

Question:

Could you explain why the “b” in “black Americans” is not capitalized? I’ve noticed that other ethnic groups all are capitalized. But not Black people. Why is this?

Answer:

Most mainstream print publications in the United States use what is known as “AP style,” or the style dictated by The Associated Press Stylebook. This book and web site describes what to capitalize and what not to capitalize (among other rules of grammar).

{snip}

I made the decision not to follow AP style in the case of “Black” and “white” when it applies to describing people. AP style is to capitalize neither; however, terms such as African American, Negro, Caucasian, Italian American or Asian are all capitalized.

Regardless of whether there is adequate representation among the decision makers at the AP, I felt DiversityInc needed to be more accurate.

The word “Black” is used around the world to describe people who have “racial” features indicating African ancestry. Please keep in mind that the convention of race has been discarded by science–genetically, we are all one race, and the human-genome project proves we are all from Africa.

{snip}

I do not believe “white” needs to be capitalized because people in the white majority don’t think of themselves in that way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this–it’s just how it is. The exception is white supremacists who have a definite vision for what “white” means. Most American white people describe themselves in more defined terms, such as Irish American or Jewish. {snip}

I don’t think there will ever be a time in our country where “white” becomes “White.” Nor do I think white people will accept the term “minority” when we become less than 50 percent of our population by roughly 2045. {snip}