# Is capitalizing the 'B' in "Black" a new thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 3, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984 "2020-06-03T15:38:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/1 "2020-06-03T15:38:35Z")
As in [this article](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/06/03/boston-police-arrests-protest-franklin-park-tuesday-june-2): > [@](#): > > Boston police say just two individuals were arrested Tuesday in Boston as thousands of people gathered in Franklin Park to peacefully demonstrate against the killing of Black people by law enforcement. I’ve seen it a few times recently and I don’t remember it being the case (heh) in the past but then I could be clueless. I saw a tweet with “Woman” capitalized as well. Is this maybe a result of camel-casing Twitter hashtags that have made it into general usage? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/2 "2020-06-03T15:48:14Z")
I was the copy editor of my college newspaper in 1986-87 and noticed “Black” being used rather than “black” even then. But I haven’t been able to find when this usage started. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/3 "2020-06-03T16:11:12Z")
Huh, ok. So the answer is: yes, I’m clueless. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/4 "2020-06-03T16:18:33Z")
Not every publication uses the capital B, so it’s possible that the ones you read do not. (So you might not be as clueless as you think.) ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/5 "2020-06-03T16:20:42Z")
Standard practice is that while modifiers of common nouns (in this case adjectives) are not capitalized; nationalities and ethnic groups are. Black people are black people, or, Blacks are black. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/6 "2020-06-03T16:56:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not every publication uses the capital B, so it’s possible that the ones you read do not. (So you might not be as clueless as you think.) > [@orcenio](#): > > Standard practice is that while modifiers of common nouns (in this case adjectives) are not capitalized; nationalities and ethnic groups are. Black people are black people, or, Blacks are black. There’s no “standard” practice. It depends entirely on the style guide used by the publication in question. For example, although the Chicago Manual of Style recommends the capitalization of ethnic groups and nationalities, it says “Common designations of ethnic groups by color are usually lower cased unless a particular publisher or author prefers otherwise.” (Section 8.39 in my edition.) The New York Times also uses lowercase for “black” as an ethnic group. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/7 "2020-06-03T17:09:54Z")
BTW, I don’t have access to the AP Stylebook, but I learned from a [Google search](https://aceseditors.org/news/2019/ap-stylebook-adds-new-umbrella-entry-for-race-related-coverage-issues-new-hyphen-guidance-and-other-changes) that they made changes last year to address race-related terms. I believe their standard is to use lowercase b but they also said not to use “blacks” or “whites” as nouns. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/8 "2020-06-03T17:51:01Z")
[Here’s](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/opinion/the-case-for-black-with-a-capital-b.html) an informative overview on the history of the lower-case/capitalization issue. Lower-case terms for Americans of African ancestry were the norm through the 1920s. W.E.B. DuBois had to fight for years to get newspapers, including the NYT, to capitalize “Negro.” When the Encyclopedia Britannica told him it would change the capital-N version in DuBois’ article to lower-case, DuBois responded > [@](#): > > the use of a small letter for the name of twelve million Americans and two hundred million human beings a personal insult. I don’t know which version is more popular, but the author of the linked op-ed, who’s a professor of journalism at Temple University, says > [@](#): > > When speaking of a culture, ethnicity or group of people, the name should be capitalized. Black with a capital B refers to people of the African diaspora. Lowercase black is simply a color. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/9 "2020-06-17T15:03:49Z")
Seems relevant. [To our readers: Why we’re now capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black](https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/6/15/21292317/capitalzing-b-black-sun-times-african-american-latino-white-style-newsroom) - Chicago Sun-Times staff > [@](#): > > On Monday, we joined the growing list of news organizations around the country that have opted to capitalize Black when using the word to describe a culture, ethnicity or community of people. We made this decision after engaging in dialogues with people inside and outside our newsroom and company, including readers and employees. \*Off-topic: Would the Sun-Times copyright sue the Straight Dope for extensive quoting its articles? Kinda “cutting off one’s nose” if they are both corporately related (I have no idea about US law, nor the current state of SDMB/Sun-times relationship). ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/10 "2020-06-17T16:18:35Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Seems relevant. [To our readers: Why we’re now capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black](https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/6/15/21292317/capitalzing-b-black-sun-times-african-american-latino-white-style-newsroom) - Chicago Sun-Times staff > [@](#): > > Our decision puts Black on the same level as Hispanic, Latino, Asian, African American and other descriptors. “Other” would include the [Deaf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_culture) community. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/11 "2020-06-17T16:52:11Z")
So, that must mean Donald Trump is an “Orangeman” with an upper case “O”. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/12 "2020-06-17T16:58:30Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > So, that must mean Donald Trump is an “Orangeman” with an upper case “O”. :eek: Ochre-American. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/13 "2020-06-17T17:03:36Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > So, that must mean Donald Trump is an “Orangeman” with an upper case “O”. :eek: > [@stop me](#): > > Ochre-American. **Moderator Note** Let’s refrain from political cracks in GQ. No warnings issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/14 "2020-06-17T18:56:31Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > So, that must mean Donald Trump is an “Orangeman” with an upper case “O”. :eek: “Orangeman” is already a term used for Protestant Irish. ---
**Author:** ![ALOHA\_HATER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@ALOHA\_HATER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ALOHA_HATER)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/15 "2020-06-17T23:00:28Z")
I think capitalizing Black became a thing like… 10 years ago? capitalizing “woman” is not a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/16 "2020-06-18T03:58:09Z")
Mainstream newspapers lowercased _black_, but African-American newspapers often capitalized it. Other non-mainstream newspapers sometimes did likewise for other groups. I was always a little taken aback to see _Gay_ capitalized in _The Washington Blade._ The same battle may well have been fought a century ago over _Negro_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/17 "2020-06-18T08:44:12Z")
The style manual at my college newspaper (circa 1982) recommended capitalizing it. I forget which manual it was; I seem to recall it was either _New York Times_ or _Washington Post_. It wasn’t \*Chicago Manual of Style. \* ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/18 "2020-06-18T14:52:20Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Mainstream newspapers lowercased _black_, but African-American newspapers often capitalized it. Magazines, too, I think. I recall seeing it capitalized when thumbing through issues of _Ebony_ or whatever in doctors’ waiting rooms. I remember in decades past hearing white people complaining about it and saying things like, If they’re going to that then they better capitalize ‘white’ as well!” I don’t know if the issue still cheeses white people off so much. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/19 "2020-06-18T15:13:57Z")
I remember seeing it all the way back in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984/20 "2020-06-18T15:21:23Z")
When you were seeing it used in the 1970s, was this in Black media, like say Ebony magazine? Because I imagine they would be in the forefront of such a change. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-capitalizing-the-b-in-black-a-new-thing/854984.md?page=2)