Black With a Capital B Why do you capitalize Black when you refer to Black people, but not white when you refer to white people? Is this something new? I notice Bob Woodward did the same thing in his most recent book,
Rage. I really don t get it. Eric Johnson Editor s note:
Seven Days began capitalizing Black when it refers to racial, cultural and ethnic identity last June, shortly before the Associated Press Stylebook formalized the same recommendation, stating that doing so conveys an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black . The lowercase black is a color, not a person. Why treat white differently? As the AP writes, White people generally do not share the same history of culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color. Additionally, Capitalizing the term white, as is done by white supremacists, risks subtly conveying legitimacy to s