Why is it that “black” is capitalized in some news stories concerning a person of color, but “white,” when referring to a Caucasian, never is? Just wondering.
@johnldeboer
Some people do capitalize both. Since white people consider their race as the default normal, only the far right wing people primarily see their race as their identity.
@AlphaCentauri I have yet to see white capitalized, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for an example.
It is depending on whether you use AP style book or have your own style book.
Contrary to popular belief, not all news departments use the same style book.
I typically use ‘Black’ and ‘White’ (but on occasion lapse to ‘black’ and ‘white’).
The problem with capitalizing White is it can be mistaken as shorthand for White Supremacy, etc.
@feloneouscat @AlphaCentauri I use both the AP Stylebook and the CMS, choosing one over the other if they differ based on what I think should be right.😀 I see your point about the possible connotation with White Supremacy, but it seems to me that shouldn’t govern how to write it. Would capitalizing black in the ‘60s be avoided because of a possible association with the Black Panthers? Better, it seems to me, is to avoid the dichotomy and put both in lower case. That’s what I do in my writing.
@johnldeboer @feloneouscat
You'd capitalize it in the same way you'd capitalize Irish or Italian as an ethnicity. It's used interchangeably with African American. Most people of European descent will describe their ethnicity based on their family's countries of origin ("I'm Irish and Italian").